History Main / EvilCannotComprehendGood

Never underestimate ThePowerOfLove and ThePowerOfFriendship. [[TrueCompanions True friendship]] requires acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, which is selfless and understanding. Being self-centered makes it nearly impossible for a villain to understand or embrace the necessary demands of friendship. Pride is by nature competitive, pitting the arrogant villain against anyone and everyone - they simply can’t understand ThePowerOfFriendship, which is a form of love, placing it outside of the realm of their understanding. WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove [[SillyRabbitRomanceIsForKids Is it just incomprehensible nonsense]], [[CuriosityCausesConversion or should I try to understand it?]] May end in AnAesop that RousseauWasRight and/or SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.

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Never underestimate ThePowerOfLove and ThePowerOfFriendship. [[TrueCompanions True friendship]] requires acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, which is selfless and understanding. Being self-centered makes it nearly impossible for a villain to understand or embrace the necessary demands of friendship. Pride is by nature competitive, pitting the arrogant villain against anyone and everyone - they simply can’t understand ThePowerOfFriendship, which is a form of love, placing it outside of the realm of their understanding.

The same thing goes with ThePowerOfLove -- villains would regard it as a bizarre and alien concept, and are completely blindsided when the hero TookAThirdOption to not only save his love interest and allies, but also the city from the villain's clutches. Cue an epic KirkSummation or ShutUpHannibal, where the hero calls out the villain for his crimes, and for his inability to understand compassion or what motivates the good.

WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove [[SillyRabbitRomanceIsForKids Is it just incomprehensible nonsense]], [[CuriosityCausesConversion or should I try to understand it?]] May end in AnAesop that RousseauWasRight and/or SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.

Supertrope of BewareTheHonestOnes and subtrope of WrongAssumption. Contrast GoodIsOldFashioned, SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids, and InvertedTrope GoodCannotComprehendEvil. Compare BlueAndOrangeMorality. Often involves PsychologicalProjection. When someone evil ''is'' capable of understanding or admiring good, it may lead to SympathyForTheHero. If this trope is at work because the villain thinks ''he'' is the good guy and is baffled at the heroes wanting to stop him, it's because he's ObliviouslyEvil. CuriousQualmsOfConscience could be similar to a milder form--characters who doesn't understand the good and the conscience within themselves.

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Supertrope of BewareTheHonestOnes and subtrope of WrongAssumption. Contrast GoodIsOldFashioned, SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids, and the InvertedTrope of GoodCannotComprehendEvil. Compare BlueAndOrangeMorality. Often involves PsychologicalProjection. When someone evil ''is'' capable of understanding or admiring good, it may lead to SympathyForTheHero. If this trope is at work because the villain thinks ''he'' is the good guy and is baffled at the heroes wanting to stop him, it's because he's ObliviouslyEvil. CuriousQualmsOfConscience could be similar to a milder form--characters who doesn't understand the good and the conscience within themselves.

Supertrope of BewareTheHonestOnes and subtrope of WrongAssumption. Contrast GoodIsOldFashioned, SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids, and GoodCannotComprehendEvil. Compare BlueAndOrangeMorality. Often involves PsychologicalProjection. When someone evil ''is'' capable of understanding or admiring good, it may lead to SympathyForTheHero. If this trope is at work because the villain thinks ''he'' is the good guy and is baffled at the heroes wanting to stop him, it's because he's ObliviouslyEvil. CuriousQualmsOfConscience could be similar to a milder form--characters who doesn't understand the good and the conscience within themselves.

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Supertrope of BewareTheHonestOnes and subtrope of WrongAssumption. Contrast GoodIsOldFashioned, SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids, and InvertedTrope GoodCannotComprehendEvil. Compare BlueAndOrangeMorality. Often involves PsychologicalProjection. When someone evil ''is'' capable of understanding or admiring good, it may lead to SympathyForTheHero. If this trope is at work because the villain thinks ''he'' is the good guy and is baffled at the heroes wanting to stop him, it's because he's ObliviouslyEvil. CuriousQualmsOfConscience could be similar to a milder form--characters who doesn't understand the good and the conscience within themselves.

The inability to comprehend good altruistic behaviour ([[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished especially when it results in punishment]] ) is a common trait in [[TheCynic cynics]], {{Straw Nihilist}}s, {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, {{Social Darwinist}}s, and [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] (who really are incapable of feeling things that have no selfish incentive, such as compassion). This is TruthInTelevision in many cases.

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The inability to comprehend good altruistic behaviour behavior ([[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished especially when it results in punishment]] ) punishment]]) is a common trait in [[TheCynic cynics]], {{Straw Nihilist}}s, {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, {{Social Darwinist}}s, and [[TheSociopath sociopaths]] (who really are incapable of feeling things that have no selfish incentive, such as compassion). This is TruthInTelevision in many cases.

Never underestimate ThePowerOfLove and ThePowerOfFriendship. WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove [[SillyRabbitRomanceIsForKids Is it just incomprehensible nonsense]], [[CuriosityCausesConversion or should I try to understand it?]] May end in AnAesop that RousseauWasRight and/or SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.

to:

Never underestimate ThePowerOfLove and ThePowerOfFriendship. [[TrueCompanions True friendship]] requires acts of kindness and thoughtfulness, which is selfless and understanding. Being self-centered makes it nearly impossible for a villain to understand or embrace the necessary demands of friendship. Pride is by nature competitive, pitting the arrogant villain against anyone and everyone - they simply can’t understand ThePowerOfFriendship, which is a form of love, placing it outside of the realm of their understanding. WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove [[SillyRabbitRomanceIsForKids Is it just incomprehensible nonsense]], [[CuriosityCausesConversion or should I try to understand it?]] May end in AnAesop that RousseauWasRight and/or SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': Knives, being something of a PsychopathicManchild, doesn't understand why his twin brother Vash would choose to side with the humans over himself, when the humans (in Knives' eyes) are nothing more than parasites who leech the lives of Plants (from whom Knives and Vash were born).* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': ** Giese Hunt assumes that the reason why Johan uses the Crystal Beast cards is because he seeks its ace card, Rainbow Dragon, to sell for profit, which is what Giese seeks it for. Johan angrily retorts that the Crystal Beast cards have a bond with and chose him as their master, and even if he found Rainbow Dragon, he would only treat it as another friend.** Edo Phoenix is the {{designated|Villain}} and [[SlaveToPR self-proclaimed]] AntiHero, so he confuses even ''himself'' when he makes a HeroicSacrifice trying to save [[LoveMartyr Ekou]], [[TheDulcineaEffect someone he just met who should mean nothing to him]].* ''Manga/YuGiOh'': During the [[AmusementParkOfDoom Death-T arc]], when Yugi and his pals are trapped in the Death T-3 room, which involves giant blocks falling and attempting to crush them, Kaiba firmly believes that everyone only cares about themselves most of all and at least one of Yugi's group will betray the others to save themselves. Honda/Tristan proves him wrong when he is pinned by the jacket between two blocks, helping Yugi escape and remaining behind.* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'':** If Shin really knew and loved [[MessianicArchetype Yuria]], he '''really''' wouldn't be surprised that [[spoiler:she was DrivenToSuicide by the cruelty and genocide he committed in the name of earning her love.]] It's revealed in a later episode (though in chronological order in ''Yuria Den'') that [[spoiler:he realized she was lost to him, after she survived her fall only to unconsciously call for Ken]].** In the case of Raoh, he's so emotionally stunted by his drive to conquer the world that while he still gets brotherly love (hence one of the anime's most touching scenes), ''romantic'' love flies right over his head. As a result, he mistook his relationships with Reina and Yuria for ambition (Reina as a comrade in his ambition, Yuria as the source/prize of his ambition) instead of could-have-been-love. The sheer ''ignorance'' of Raoh's response, when he's subsequently frightened both by Kenshiro and by Fudou's children, wondering at the source of Kenshiro's power...** After Jackal's gang murdered an old lady that was taking care of a bunch of little children, Kenshiro swore that he would track, find, and kill all of them, and began to do just that. After finding a corpse of one of his comrades, a bandit said he didn't understand why Kenshiro was doing something he gained nothing with.%%* This along with ThePowerOfLove is usually what causes the defeats of the boss villains in the ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' series.* In ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar'', [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord Akudaikahn]] is so utterly unable to understand anything but his own thirst for destruction that he has a VillainousBreakdown and goes ''completely insane'' when the HeelFaceTurn-ed [[DarkMagicalGirl Michiru and Kaoru]] reveal to him that, in fact, he ''did'' commit a good deed by giving them life.* In ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'', 004 was faced with a fully robot duplicate of himself which was not only stronger and faster, but could perfectly predict his actions. Until their battle knocked a bird's nest loose from a tree; the mere act of 004 diving to catch it was so unexpected to the robot that it was effectively a LogicBomb and caused the robot to malfunction and shut down.* The ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' {{OVA}} had Bishamon suffer this when Donovan put himself at risk to save human bystanders during their fight.* Naraku, from ''Manga/InuYasha'', privately expresses some confusion when [[ActionGirl Sango]] ''simply will not kill'' her little brother Kohaku, no matter ''what'' he [[BrainwashedAndCrazy makes him do]]. While he was played for this trope for most of the series, another particularly [[KickTheDog despicable]] instance being when he claims the way the protagonists would just show mercy to a loyal underling whom he just sent on a suicide mission to take them out makes ''him'' sick, he is ultimately revealed to be an interesting subversion when Kagome points out that he is part human and couldn't possibly carried out his ManipulativeBastard antics if he didn't understand the meaning of human bonds, which, on the one hand, manages to make him a great deal ''more'' terrifying as a villain than he would be if he simply didn't get goodness, since it means that he always knew ''exactly'' what his actions would do to the protagonists, but on the other hand revealed that his motivations had to go [[LoveMakesYouEvil beyond mere lust for power.]] It is interesting that he was never really aware that the vestiges of humanity he tried so hard to get rid of were, in fact, as much of an asset to him as they were to the protagonist.* Played [[TearJerker for tragedy]] in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' when [[spoiler: CreepyChild Gretel is so confused by Rock showing her genuine kindness and [[HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim crying for her]] that she [[DoesNotKnowHowToSayThanks sexually proposes to Rock as thanks]].]]* Similarly to the example from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', in the manga version of ''Literature/BattleRoyale'', [[TheVamp Mitsuko Souma]] is captured by Tadakatsu, a baseball player, and Yuichiro, an otaku. While Tadakatsu is wary of her, Yuichiro is more sympathetic and makes the effort to talk to her. Having been abused and exploited by men for most of her life, Mitsuko assumes that Yuichiro's just trying to get into her knickers when he offers to untie her hands. However, she's surprised to discover that he's just going to give her a drink and has no ulterior motives, and is even more surprised when he [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet from Tadakatsu to protect her]]. * In ''Manga/DeathNote'':** Mello had kidnapped and traumatized Sayu. Soichiro, Sayu and Light's father, had managed to get the Shinigami Eyes and got back the notebook. Light was expecting his father to write out Mello's name as soon as he saw his face but Soichiro simply threatened Mello, preferring to arrest him. Light couldn't understand why Soichiro would do that.** Used again with Mello and Light later on, after Mello kidnaps Takada. [[spoiler: Mello is killed in ensuing events. Light, whose first loyalty is to his own survival, cannot conceive that someone like Mello would sacrifice himself for any reason and [[ThanatosGambit walks right into the trap convinced that Mello was just an idiot]]. Although not exactly hero and villain, this is clearly a case of selfishness cannot comprehend loyalty. It's worth noting that with other characters that are more clearly good guys, Light tends to have better success predicting their behavior--Near is an example--but, perhaps because Mello demonstrates a kindred disregard for human life early on, Light simply assumes that the other is driven by greed rather than revenge.]]* The Antispiral's speech to Nia in the final episode of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' would indicate that it doesn't understand why humanity continues to fight against the impossible odds it faces: "Your actions are baffling, Irregular. Why do you resist us so?" After it asserts that it could permanently suppress humanity if it knew what the source of their determination was, Nia then {{lampshade|Hanging}}s the trope, stating that the Anti-Spiral cannot possibly understand and that it should stop trying. Unfazed, the Anti-Spiral states that it doesn't ''need'' to understand, it just needs to ''know''.* MagnificentBastard Yokoya from ''Manga/LiarGame'' scoffs and mocks Nao's ideal of saving everyone in the game, including himself.* In ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'', Kanryu Takeda does not understand why the heroes are trying to rescue Megumi even though there is no reward waiting for them. He is even more bewildered that they refuse to take his bribes.** A more tragic example with [[TheDragon Seta Soujiro]], though it's more a case of willful denial--he was only able to deal with killing by completely entrenching himself in [[SocialDarwinist Shishio's philosophy]]. The mere ''idea'' of Kenshin's opposing philosophy to protect the weak enrages him, eventually driving him into a [[VillainousBreakdown full-on breakdown.]]* ''Manga/BlackCat'': Creed is the living embodiment of this, although it verges on "Insanity Cannot Comprehend Sanity" at times. Literally every problem in series was triggered by Creed's inability to process, or even understand, ordinary human feelings. Creed honestly can't understand why his murder of Saya would prevent Train from wanting to join him. Similarly, it leaves him unable to understand why his Bad Boss tendencies will lead to poor morale among his subordinates. Creed seems to see people as existing apart from one another and, as such, social cause and effect has almost no meaning for him, which only fuels his issues.* In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Jose doesn't understand why Crow would lose on purpose just to give Yusei a fighting chance in their tag-team duel.* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':** As a part of his VillainDecay down to SmugSnake, Sosuke Aizen gets hit with this by the end of his character arc. When Ichigo first confronts him, Aizen attempts to mess with his head by claiming Ichigo has no reason to hate him and is only fighting out of duty even though he and Ichigo both know Aizen will murder everyone Ichigo knows and loves if he's not stopped. Later on, when Ichigo reappears, clearly looking like he TookALevelInBadass, Aizen assumes the new form is no threat at all because Ichigo changed in a way he hadn't predicted. It hits Aizen much harder in relation to Urahara, however; Aizen appears to be genuinely bewildered and outraged that Urahara, the only man he considers his intellectual equal, is not only content to sit idle rather than try to control the afterlife, but also opposed to Aizen's attempts to do so.** Ulquiorra is a much straighter example. He outright states that he doesn't understand why Ichigo fights him, even though he's hopelessly outclassed.** Yhwach unbalances Ichigo by revealing [[LukeIAmYourFather he is Ichigo's ancestor]]. Later, the Quincy blood Ichigo inherited from him causes Ichigo to instinctively attack the Soul King. Yhwach says it doesn't make sense that Ichigo still wants to oppose him.* [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Gaara]] from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', back when he was an AxCrazy SerialKiller who honestly though his purpose in life was to kill people. When Guy stopped him from killing a beaten and defenceless Lee, he had no idea why Guy protected someone who "failed". We actually saw his world-view (represented by images of his childhood) shattering. Nor did he understand how Naruto could keep pushing himself so hard in their final fight, hard enough that even when both of them were utterly exhausted, Gaara was flat on his back but Naruto was ''crawling on his chest'' to fight him, because that was the only way to save Sakura and his friends. He only quit when Sasuke showed up and told him Sakura was safe. Naruto got Gaara just fine, though; he knew exactly what Gaara had been through and explained to him that it was finding friends like them that saved him from the dark, angry place Gaara was in himself. Worth noting is that Gaara [[HeelFaceTurn takes this to heart]] and while he never ''quite'' loses the creepy vibe he gives off, [[DarkIsNotEvil he proves to be just as loyal to his friends and family as Naruto himself.]]** As Sasuke falls deeper into darkness, he admits a couple times that he has no clue why his old teammates are still going to such lengths to get him back on their side. Whether it's out of his obsession-born apathy or a low opinion of himself depends on which point in the story we're talking about.* In ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'':** This is the reason that [[BigBad Dark Star]] merges with his mortal enemy [[BigGood Vorfeed]] to become an entity to destroy all universes and then rebuild them into a world where the two of them would not need to fight each other anymore.** In the manga, Knight of the Aqua Lord, the BigBad of that season took the power of a god and went insane.* Tao En[=/=]Yuan in ''Manga/ShamanKing'', who refuses to believe that you can trust anyone due to the way his ancestors were persecuted for their shaman powers. This is crucial to his defeat--he's more powerful than any of the main characters at that point, but watching ThePowerOfFriendship trump self-preservation destroys his focus.* Over the years Franchise/{{Gundam}} has shown a few examples of this:** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', Gihren doesn't seem to understand why his sister Kycilia would be upset that [[spoiler:he killed their father. He assumes she's joking when she pulls a gun on him and his final expression is one of pure shock, as he never predicted that she would kill him to avenge their father.]]** The undeniable Queen of Evil in all ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' Universes, Katejina Loos from ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam'', ''literally'' got sick since she couldn't comprehend Shakti's thoughts of ending the battle and preserving life.** Haman Khan from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' descended into cynicism and nihilism well before the series began, which is why she can't understand why Judau refuses to join her. She tries several separate approaches to manipulate and seduce him to her side, but all fail.** Ultimately, Char Aznable at the end of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'' shows that he can't understand why Amuro keeps fighting to preserve Earth and the Federation noting that even the best of them has the potential to destroy everyone anyway. Amuro agrees that HumansAreFlawed, but that humans also have the potential to ''save'' people too, and his hope in people is what ultimately wins out in the end--his determination to save the people of Earth is so powerful that it reverses the effects of Earth's gravity outright on the remains of Axis.* This happens to the homunculus Envy in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He (well, Envy's genderless) gets baffled and frustrated by how so many former enemies are setting aside their differences and teaming up to defeat Father's forces. He unsuccessfully tries to remind them of how much they should hate each other. When Envy realizes that [[spoiler:he envied humans' kindness and decency all along]], he [[spoiler:takes his own life out of humiliation.]]** It also happens, to a lesser extent, to Wrath and his minions a bit later. They correctly guessed that they could use LoveIsAWeakness against [[spoiler:Roy Mustang, by slashing the throat of his beloved aide Riza Hawkeye and using her life as motivation for him to perform the forbidden human transmutation, which they needed in order to turn him into one of their sacrifices. What they didn't bank on was Riza fighting death long enough to urge him to refuse, and on the arrival of TheCavalry to help save her.]] Wrath even comments on it after the fact, saying that he ''really hates it'' when humans behave in a way he doesn't expect.* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':** In the Diamond and Pearl arc this is the reason why [[JerkAss Paul]] could not raise Chimchar to his full potential; as he thought making friends with his Pokémon was a waste of time. This came back to bite him in the ass when Ash raised said Chimchar into an Infernape and beat him in the Pokémon league.** An earlier example was with Damien in the early Kanto saga. Even though he treated his Charmander like crap and [[MoralEventHorizon left it to die in the rain]], he still expected it to wait for him to come get it and welcome him back with open arms. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Cue Charmander defecting to Ash]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments and roasting Damien.]]** In Best Wishes 2 Episode N's GrandFinale, Colress and Ghetsis are astonished at the fact that Ash's Pikachu and Reshiram freed themselves from the Pokémon Control Machine under their own power, and don't understand how they could. They are so awestruck at how their plans failed that it sends them both into a VillainousBreakdown.* Serves as a pivotal point in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. [[spoiler:Kyuubey can't understand why there's such an emotional impact of losing one person [[AMillionIsAStatistic when there are seven billion people]]. Although Kyuubey isn't evil per se, he just has a goal that the main cast disagrees with when they learn the truth.]]* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': ** [[TheRival Natsu Tanimoto]] came across as this after he was first revealed to be Hermit, the Fifth Fist of Ragnarok; he refused to believe that Kenichi's sense of right and justice was anything more than a facade. This was eventually [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by his FreudianExcuse (his adopted father was killed by his wife who pretended to love him just to get close to him for his money, and later Natsu himself was betrayed by an associate of the senior Tanimoto who pretended to be trustworthy just for the chance to off Natsu and get his fortune for himself), but after he realized that Kenichi really did believe in his own ideals, he pulled a sort-of HeelFaceTurn and is currently a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.** Played straighter with Silcardo Junazard, the "Demon Fist" of YAMI's One Shadow Nine Fists, much later on. [[spoiler:He was bewildered that the kidnapped Miu, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy even in a state of brainwashed bloodlust that he'd previously implanted in her]], tried to treat his fatal wound instead of pulling a sneak attack on Akira Hongo, the man who inflicted said wound, as Junazard had expected her to do.]]* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'':** When Tsukune, about to be executed, asks that he spare the other members of the Newspaper Club, Kuyou is genuinely surprised that he would make such a selfless request despite facing execution. In general, Kuyou openly derides the very idea of human/monster co-existence as ridiculous at best and sickening at worst.** Kiria is completely taken aback when Kurumu chooses to save Moka's life despite the two being rivals for Tsukune's love, as he genuinely believed that Kurumu would just let Moka die; as Kurumu points out to him, just because she's competing with Moka for Tsukune does ''not'' mean that she hates Moka or wants her dead.* [[AlphaBitch Minerva]] of ''Manga/FairyTail'' is so dangerous partially because of how she inverts this. She fully recognizes how some fighters become more dangerous when motivated by ThePowerOfFriendship, and plans to use it to devastating effect with Sting in the Grand Magic Tournament.** When Byro tries to kill Coco for treason, Lucy steps in to defend her. Byro asks why she would care about her, especially since Coco was from the enemy's side. Lucy replies, "I have to care about her, because you don't."** [[FourEyesZeroSoul Invel]] chains [[AnIcePerson Gray]] and [[StalkerWithACrush Juvia]] together and forces them to fight to the death. He does not anticipate the two [[spoiler: ''killing themselves'' so they won't harm the other. Juvia on the other hand did plan for this and created a spell that would save Gray by transferring her blood into him (from her POV it's a win-win: her beloved is safe and she gets to "live on" inside him). Fortunately for Juvia Wendy arrives just in time to heal her]].* Being a deconstruction of the FightingSeries PlayedForLaughs, ''Manga/MutekiKanbanMusume'' deconstructs this rope with Megumi: given her self-hatred, she considers herself as a CardCarryingVillain, but she is only a SchoolYardBullyAllGrownUp who cannot understand why she has to help anyone or why anyone would want to be her friend… because her definition of friend is ''Someone who I can manipulate to defeat TheRival Miki''. She cannot understand why Kayahara Sensei would want to be her friend, nor that IdiotHero Kankuro would want to help her in her quest.* ''Manga/SoulEater'': Spoiler example: [[spoiler: In the anime, [[TheBigBad Asura]] is defeated because he can't understand why Maka keeps fighting despite being clearly outmatched. His inability to understand the concept of bravery and dedication confuses him, allowing Maka to land a fatal blow.]]** Stein has a relevant line when witch Medusa confesses her love for him:--->'''Medusa:''' I love you, you know. A man after my own heart.\\'''Stein:''' Don't be stupid. [[NotSoDifferent At your core, Medusa, you're just like me.]] You couldn't possibly understand a concept like love.* ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'': This is one of King's flaws as mentioned in chapter 172.* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': ** Shizuri Mugino gets attacked by an unnamed assailant who uses a ShapeShifterGuiltTrip against her. He says LoveIsAWeakness and that her love for [[spoiler:Shiage Hamazura]] and her guilt over killing [[spoiler:Frenda Seivelun]] will weaken her enough for him to crush her. Instead, she massacres him. The assailant is shocked and asks how. Mugino says ThePowerOfLove has made her stronger than ever before, and the assailant is baffled.** Leivinia Birdway can easily enter the mindset of politicians and master schemers like Creator/AleisterCrowley to predict their actions and motivations. However, [[TheHero Touma Kamijou's]] [[ChronicHeroSyndrome drive to help and protect others]] without expecting any reward or having any ulterior motives makes absolutely no sense to her. She eventually concludes that he is insane.* A lot of Eclipse infectees really irked with Thoma's merciful behavior in ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce''.* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Sugou Nobuyuki, the BigBad of the Fairy Dance arc, thinks that Kirito will be too afraid to enter ALfheim Online to attempt a rescue of his kidnapped wife and and gloats about this to said wife in order to demoralize her. Not only is Kirito more than strong enough to dive headfirst into the game on the off chance he can save Asuna, she is well aware of that, and hearing that Kirito knows she's in danger is enough to keep her going for a little while longer. She herself lampshades this, saying that if Sugou had any understanding of love, he would he have lied and said Kirito was dead. * Kam from the ''Videogame/{{Medabots}}'' anime refuses to recognise Medabots as sentient A.I.s, preferring to see them as machines for combat, and, by extension, fails to grasp that [[LimitBreak the Medaforce]] draws power from [[ThePowerOfFriendship the bond that a Medabot forms with its owner]].* ''Rain'': When [[BigBad Reygul]] asks [[TheHero Rain]] why he fights, Rain says it's to protect the people he wants to protect. Reygul explicitly says he cannot comprehend that; specifically, he can't understand why someone as powerful as Rain doesn't have [[AmbitionIsEvil more ambitious goals]]. [[spoiler:Made more ironic when Reygul's brother chastises him for abandoning his duties as the guardian of their homeland in favor of world conquest. Reygul is ''supposed'' to be doing what Rain is doing.]]* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'': This trope is why Esdeath is unable to make Tatsumi love her. Tatsumi tries to convince her to join the revolution because he doesn't like innocent people dying needlessly in war, but she rebukes this. She doesn't understand why this upsets him due to her own SocialDarwinist beliefs, saying that the weak deserve to die and the strong are the ones who survive. Needless to say, Tatsumi makes it clear he will never love a woman who enjoys killing and would even start a new war to continue.* ''Manga/OnePiece'':** In Luffy's backstory, the nobility of Goa Kingdom concoct a plan to impress the Celestial Dragons, the highest ''world'' nobility, by removing all the trash piled just outside the city walls and cleaning the place up. They plan to do this by setting the trash on fire, with no regard whatsoever for the hundreds of poor and impoverished who make that area their home. Upon discovering this, a noble boy, Sabo, is shocked and horrified. This is made worse when he realizes that not only did the majority of his fellow nobles ''know'' what is happening, but they do not see why he would be so horrified by it.** The Vinsmoke family, [[spoiler:Sanji's father and siblings]], are the rulers of the organization and mobile nation Germa 66. They view their status as their birthright and anybody below them exists to serve them to the point of expecting their soldiers to serve as willing human shields at their command. This leaves them perplexed when the WhiteSheep of their family is a man who would gladly cook for commoners or even animals and treats their servants like human beings (i.e not beating the shit of innocent women because she made some food they didn't like). Yet even Reiju, the eldest child and the only one among them who shows anything like empathy or concern that isn't MoralMyopia, is confused at her brother's loyalty to the [[ParentalSubstitute father figure]] who showed him genuine compassion.* An example where "Evil Misinterprets The Concept Of Good" occurs in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', where Puppetmon is a PsychopathicManchild who thinks having friends means having living toys. That friends [[BadBoss can be thrown out or killed]] [[YouHaveFailedMe whenever they fail you]], [[ItAmusedMe for fun]], [[OffingTheMouth annoy you]], or [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness simply lose interest in them]]. Before he was killed by [=MetalGarurumon=], Matt, who's the holder of [[PowerOfFriendship the Crest of Friendship]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tells him point-blank that]] Puppetmon doesn't understand what having friends means.* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':** During the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament of the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', no member of the Crane School gets why Jackie Chun, AKA a disguised Master Roshi, suddenly throws the tournament match with Tien. While the Crane Hermit attributes it to fear of a superior opponent, Tien at least understands there's more to it, and it's his desperate attempt to understand why Roshi did it that ultimately sparks his HeelFaceTurn.** Vegeta showed two examples of this during the Android Saga: Following the near-fatal capsule explosion, Vegeta couldn't fathom why Bulma had chosen to stay by his side while he was recovering. Later, just before his battle with #18, he scoffed at the thought of the other Z Fighters coming to his aid, even asking why they'd ''want'' to help him. ** When Gohan [[TakingTheBullet takes the attack]] that Cell meant for Vegeta, Cell openly wonders ''why'' Gohan would do so.-->'''Cell''': Why would Gohan sacrifice himself to save Vegeta? Hm...I will never understand the ways of these Saiyans.** Zamasu of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' is firmly convinced that all mortal life is AlwaysChaoticEvil and [[FinalSolution must be eradicated]] for the good of the universe. While he ''does'' [[JerkassHasAPoint make several good points]] about how [[TheGodsMustBeLazy the gods' no-intervention policy allows evil mortals to get away with all manner of atrocities]], Zamasu's FatalFlaw is that he's [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity incapable of understanding]] that while the mortals ''are'' flawed, they can still learn and grow from their mistakes, and [[GodIsFlawed that the gods themselves can be just as fallible]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ComicBook/LexLuthor is DC's poster child for this:** In one of the earliest stories told with the CorruptCorporateExecutive version of Luthor (in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' vol. 2 #2, 1987), he notices that Clark Kent has some kind of connection with Superman and sets up a research project to find out the nature of the connection. When the researcher concludes that Clark Kent ''is'' Superman, Luthor fires her and scraps the project... because, to Luthor, it's impossible to believe that someone with that much power would want to "waste" time occupying such a humble persona.** As a general theme, Luthor understands that the CONCEPT of good exists, but doesnt really understand its basics, and seems to mostly confuse it with a mix of dominance and dependency. *** It comes around full circle in ''Action Comics'' vol. 1 #900. After achieving godhood, Luthor starts torturing Superman, thinking that he only pretends to have human emotions. When Superman provokes Luthor to delve deeper and watches [[spoiler:Jonathan Kent's death]], Luthor puts two and two together and promptly [[VillainousBreakdown flips his shit]] because ''the alien'' got to have loving parents and ''he'' didn't.** Another early Byrne story had Superman stopping a disgruntled employee from killing Lex with a bomb. Lex assumes Superman set this up to rattle him as it makes no sense for Superman to save someone he knows hates him.** In the original [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] "Death of Superman" story (''Superman vol 1 #149''), Luthor sits smugly through the Kandorians' trial, confident that he can bribe his way out. When asked for his plea, he answers that he is guilty. However, if they let him go, he will work out a way to restore them to full size. Luthor is taken aback when the judge retorts that "we of Kandor do not make deals with murderers" and orders him sent to the PhantomZone for all eternity.** In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', when Luthor gains Superman's powers, when looking through Superman's eyes and how the universe is interconnected, he realizes ''why'' Superman was so benevolent. So much so that [[HeelFaceTurn he completely atones and accepts his death sentence]].** In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} origin for Luthor, Lex's first response to Comicbook/{{Superboy}} accidentally rendering him bald when the superhero put out a lab fire was to create grandiose public works projects around Smallville to steal Superboy's thunder as the local hero. However, Lex can't get it through his head that Superboy does not mind in the least; he's simply glad that if his former friend is carrying out them as part of a vendetta, at least he is doing it constructively. Of course, each project goes dangerously out of control, forcing Superboy to intervene to avert disaster and Luthor can only rationalize that Superboy did that to humiliate him.* At the end of "Superman's Phantom Pal", Superman explains to the villainous inhabitants of the Phantom Zone that ComicBook/JimmyOlsen didn't give in to the temptation to spy on his SecretIdentity because of the boy's "loyalty and honor." He then finishes up his speech by mentioning this trope.* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}:** The eponymous heroine hated Cat Grant because Cat published news articles slandering her. Still she rescued Cat when villain Dollmaker kidnapped her. Dollmaker couldn't understand why Supergirl would want to save someone she hated.** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInTheEightGrade'', [[EvilTwin Belinda]] thinks that Supergirl is an Attention Whore because Belinda is one.--->'''Belinda:''' You think you're so important! You think you're the center of the universe!\\'''Supergirl:''' Uh... Not really.\\'''Belinda:''' You totally do! I'm you and I know what you think! You act all sweet and nice, but inside your head, you're an arrogant little angel prancing through the sky on a stupid magical fantasy horse, acting like you're better than everyone!* Franchise/XMen:** Numerous times, Magneto openly asks the X-Men why they waste their time fighting for a world that hates and fears them so much, assuming they make natural allies. When he eventually joins the team, Magneto realized how much of his past hate and experience has warped him.*** In an Avengers/X-Men crossover, Magneto develops a helmet to alter human minds, thinking it's a great way to unite the world. Captain America tells him this is wrong and Magneto uses the helmet to remove any anti-mutant feeling from Cap's mind, assuming this will sway him. When Cap says he still feels the same, a stunned Magneto confesses he always assumed every human had a hate of mutants in them. The realization that Cap truly feels this way rocks him enough to destroy the helmet and surrender himself.** It's clear many of the anti-mutant bigots who push the idea of "mutants want to destroy us" are unable to accept that A) not all mutants are alike and B) that people with power would want to live a normal life and not use that power to oppress others.** Stryfe sets up a trap for Cyclops and Jean Grey where they find a child (really a robot) tied to a computer system and tells them that killing the child will kill Stryfe. At the time Stryfe believed he was the child Cyclops once abandoned and thus totally believes they'll do it. He's literally shocked speechless when instead the duo fight the massive number of robots Stryfe sends after him and the caption boxes note how his entire worldview is being shattered. * Used when ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' enemy [[ComicBook/{{Ultron}} Ultron-6]] rebuilt himself with indestructible [[{{Unobtainium}} Adamantium]], making him invulnerable to anything the Avengers could throw at him, including [[PhysicalGod Thor]]. Ultimately, Hank Pym stops Ultron via LogicBomb by impersonating Ultron's MindProbe target after undergoing hypnosis to fill his mind with a simple phrase which Ultron's robotic KillAllHumans mindset couldn't understand: ThouShaltNotKill.* In ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', Dr. Finitevus turned Knuckles into an insane and ultrapowerful villain and, as a security feature, made sure that the change couldn't be reversed without someone [[HeroicSacrifice dying for it]]. That should do it, right? When he explained this, there was silence... for about a second, at which point everyone present started volunteering. Then the next time Finitevus ran into Knuckles, he honestly seemed surprised when Knuckles refused his [[WeCanRuleTogether offer of alliance]]; it didn't seem to occur to the "good" doctor that Knuckles would hold a grudge over the brainwashing and the death of his father (who performed the above mentioned HeroicSacrifice).* A key reason the Mad Thinker is constantly defeated is because, despite all his genius and amazing ability to predict things in advance, he still fails to calculate how people will react differently than he expects them to in non-selfish ways. He even lampshades it at times with how things like empathy and self-sacrifice create a "margin of error" in his plans.* The Wizard, long-time foe of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, had this as his motive in his first appearance. He'd missed the early years of the team as he was in isolation, learning black magic, and when he returned to civilization, the Wizard could not believe that smart people with superpowers would use them for altruistic purposes. Therefore, the JSA had to be pulling the biggest scam ever, and the Wizard demanded to be cut in.* At one point when the [[MirrorUniverse Crime Syndicate of Amerika]] infiltrate the universe of the ComicBook/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, [[EvilCounterpart Johnny Quick and Power Ring]] change costumes and pose as their heroic versions (ComicBook/TheFlash and ComicBook/GreenLantern respectively). Almost losing a fight to supervillains, they are absolutely bewildered when civilians rush in with clubs to help them. When asked why they did this, the civilians said that they owed them for all the times the League's helped them. This prompts Power Ring to complain:-->'''Power Ring:''' [[HypocriticalHumor This is one messed up universe.]]** The New 52 version of the Crime Syndicate, introduced in ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil'', is also perplexed by the idea of justice. But unlike the original take, where those who were heroes here are villains in Earth-3 and vice versa, Earth 3 (without the hyphen) is an entire world (or should we say ''universe'') where heroism, justice, and the basic good are considered foreign concepts. This Earth 3 mainly runs on [[MightMakesRight survival of the fittest]], where the weak are considered useless, and thus, don't put it in their minds to help the innocents. Even those who, nominally, ''should'' be the heroes, are [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]] ''at best''.* Some demons trap {{Traci 13}} in a LotusEaterMachine where she is the uncontested ruler of the world and her father is dead. They are baffled when she rejects the illusion and wants her father back. She thought her father was annoying with his uptight refusal to believe in magic, so the demons assumed she would be happy with him gone.* In the Creator/{{DC|Comics}} [[CrisisCrossover crossover event]] ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'', this ends up costing [[BigBad Neron]] badly when he reveals that his stream of [[DealWithTheDevil deals with various DC villains and heroes]] was done solely to get [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] to cut a deal with him. Unfortunately, Neron thought that the Big Red Cheese would ask for something selfish. Instead, Cap asked for something completely selfless ("Let everyone else go and I'm yours."), which meant that when Neron tried to take Cap's soul, [[GoodHurtsEvil it burned him so badly that he fled]]. Neron gets similarly burned when he buys the love between TheFlash and Linda Park. It causes him to start developing feelings for the souls in his possession, and he doesn't understand why. He ends up giving it up in disgust.* During the John Rogers run of ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'', Eclipso hits Jaime with a spell that will bring out his "deepest desires", which it believes will be some sort of dark, violent power fantasy. What Eclipso gets instead is... a dentist, as what Jaime ''really'' wants is a career that will make enough money to provide for his family.* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}} Incorruptible]]'', this is at least part of the reason that Max Damage is having trouble performing a HeelFaceTurn, though he honestly wants to be TheAtoner.** For that matter, The Plutonian himself doesn't actually understand good and never did. The reason he was TheCape for so long was because of a deep pathological need for mindless adoration brought on by his shitty childhood. He was never actually interested in justice or being good, he just mimicked these actions to get the approval he craved.* Franchise/{{Batman}}:** [[PsychoPsychologist Hugo Strange]] thinks Batman is TheUbermensch and wants to ''be'' him. Unfortunately, Strange doesn't actually understand Batman's underlying motivation, and misunderstands it as a drive for power. He just ends up projecting his own thirst for power on the identity of Batman and makes himself try to usurp it.** In Comicbook/TheKillingJoke, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker just can never understand that [[IronWoobie a young Bruce Wayne]] was not amused and [[{{Determinator}} wrote his own material]] as a [[RageAgainstTheHeavens comeback]].--->'''Joker:''' It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for... it's all a monstrous, demented gag! So why can't you see the funny side? ''[Joker stops smiling]'' ''Why aren't you laughing?''\\'''Batman:''' ''[bursts in through a wall]'' Because [[DarkAndTroubledPast I've heard it before]]... and it wasn't funny the ''[[DeathByOriginStory first]]'' time.** Poison Ivy presents one lighter case at ''"Batman and Robin Adventures"'' #24, ''Touch of death''. This issue shows [[{{Hypocrite}} how disconnected Poison Ivy is from her true motivations]] to save a Brazilian boy who is a PoisonousPerson from a GovernmentConspiracy and brings him back to his home. ''She acts on [[PetTheDog pity]], but she cannot understand it.''--->'''Poison Ivy:''' And with the kid, I could... ''[{{beat}}]'' ...[[DidntThinkThisThrough poison people]] ''[[CompletelyMissingThePoint faster?]]'' ...what was I thinking? ** In ComicBook/BatmanEternal, Jason Bard lost his lover/partner in Detroit because a Batman wannabe ruined a drug bust. Bard thus assumes that, like the copycat, Batman is just in it for the fame and glory and hates him. Bard also assumes all the other cops in Gotham hate these masked vigilantes as much as he does and will be happy to get rid of Batman. It takes every cop literally walking out on him for Bard to realize how they trust and admire a man fighting crime and Bard is in the wrong. ** The Riddler isn't as bad as most of Batmans Rogue's Gallery, but his deep-seated need to be recognized as the most intelligent is the only drive he understands. Despite being the villain with the most social competence AND most attempts at reforming, he just can't bring himself to form normal human bonds that aren't decided by intellectual dominance.** This is a recurring motif in some Batman books; because most of Batman's villains are insane and because he's a very mysterious figure to most of them, whenever they attempt to deduct his motives or identity they'll often project their own issues and flaws onto him. Whenever any of them discuss Bats, it quickly becomes clear they're talking about themselves. * In volume 2 of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', Emp saves a thug's life by warning him about his impending brain aneurysm and getting him to the hospital in time for an operation. However, on her way out, a pair of nurses drag her into a closet and drug her, complaining that she's ruined the evil scheme they're running from the hospital. The two of them are convinced that Emp's presence means the Superhomies are onto them, since there's no way a superhero would care about the life of a common thug. However, in this case, it's less because they can't understand kindness, and more because most superheroes in this series are ''assholes''.* In ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'', Darth Krayt's attempts to convert Cade Skywalker into a Sith fail because Cade doesn't want the power Krayt is offering him. Keep in mind that at this point Cade is still rejecting the Jedi calling--he just doesn't want power. The idea that someone might not want power is something utterly alien to the Sith, who all more or less became Sith because they wanted power.* In ''Comicbook/JasonVsLeatherface'', it is stated that [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] has been pushing on for years with his feelings of hate and anger. When he finds himself sympathizing with [[Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]], he is utterly confused.* In ''SupermanBrainiac'', Brainiac has stolen the city of Metropolis for his collection and is [[PunyEarthlings deriding Earth's perceived flaws]] to the captive Superman; it has none of Krypton's science, its weapons are primitive. He concludes that the entire culture is useless and asks Superman what they could possibly offer him. The whole time he's talking, Lois Lane, thinking the end is nigh, is desperately crying out to Superman from the shrunken Metropolis, [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove trying to tell him she loves him before it's too late.]] The implication is that if Brainiac had listened to her, he would have the answer to his question.* Both averted and played straight in Grant Morrison's "JLA: Earth 2" graphic novel. In an alternate universe where evil always wins and good always fails, the Justice League realize that the only way to defeat Brainiac is by walking away in the middle of the crisis. Played straight in the way Brainiac really didn't expect them to do it, and is punished harshly when the 'evil' Justice League return home.* The Evronians from ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' have a similar characteristic: in spite of being {{Emotion Eater}}s, the vast majority of them don't actually understand the power of emotions outside of food for themselves, nor have a large emotional ability to feel them. This proves to be the undoing of more than a few of them, who either don't anticipate someone else's reaction to their otherwise good plans or lack the emotional self-control necessary for some thing... And makes the few who ''can'' that more dangerous, as they come as a genuine surprise. Or, in one even more surprising case, [[spoiler: a genuinely good person]].* In ''Bitch Planet,'' overweight and sardonic Penelope is being "tested" by the ruthless prison wardens by being forced to look into a mirror that shows her what her true ideal self is. The wardens believe this will "help" Penelope by showing her as what they think is the ideal woman (thin, beautiful and sedate). Resistant at first, Penelope looks into the mirror...and it's her own reflection. The wardens are baffled, convinced the device must be malfunctioning, unable to understand why an overweight and unattractive woman would be happy with that appearance. * Comicbook/RedSkull doesn't get what motivates the good, obviously. But even [[EvenEvilHasStandards other bad guys have surprised him with their own ethics]]. ''SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker'' himself stunned RedSkull by refusing to work with a Nazi like him. * The Queen of Fables [[ThoroughlyMistakenIdentity thinks]] Franchise/WonderWoman is Literature/SnowWhite and Superman is PrinceCharming. She eventually discovers Superman's secret identity, and is unable to comprehend why "Prince Charming" would marry a "peasant" like Lois Lane instead of royalty like Snow White or herself. She also doesn't understand killing people and causing destruction just to get his attention won't get him to fall in love with her.* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach isn't exactly evil, but he's still a brutal, criminally insane vigilante. At the end, when Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, and Manhattan listen to Veidt's argument and realize that revealing his crimes won't save anyone, but will only jeopardize the peace that might come about as a result, Rorschach assumes that they're only joking. He doesn't believe that any superhero would let a villain go unpunished, even if it might be necessary to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': [[BigBad Winthrop]] and Jinnai ruled the post-Third Impact world with an iron fist and used Asuka like their plaything for three years. Neither of them is capable to understand why Asuka would choose a nice, understanding and caring person like Shinji over two blood-thirsty tyrants and virtual rapists or why she would turn against them; so they tell themselves Asuka is just a traitorous slut because they can not think of another reason.* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': Trying to find a way to bring Shinji under SEELE's control, his grandfather tried to talk him into living with him. Shinji turned down his grandfather's offer because he also abandoned him... and the elder Ikari didn't understand why Shinji had a trouble with that.-->"Three thousand, five hundred and forty nine"\\At least Keel and his Grandfather had the decency to glance at each other in confusion for a second, before turning back to face him.\\"I'm sorry Shinji? I don't understand-"\\"Three thousand, five hundred and forty nine" he repeated, biting off each word with a knife like edge as he stared across the table at the uncomprehending men. "It's the number of days since my Father sent me off to live with my uncle. It also happens to be the number of days since anyone from the rest of my extended family bothered to so much as acknowledge that I even existed."\\The look on his Grandfather's face more than anything else dragged Shinji back from the edge. He appeared utterly confused at his response, befuddled even, and it suddenly hit Shinji that they simply didn't understand.* In the popular ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'', Uncle lampshades this as one of Daolon Wong's traits in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the dark chi wizard, saying that Wong ''knows'' friendship and teamwork exist, but cannot understand them.** Ikazuki subtly shows he has a shade of this as well: he shows open disdain for human nobility, and can't seem to understand why Tohru still cares for Jade.** Drago has this as well, as Karasu points out in their fight. Because Shendu was [[BigScrewedUpFamily such]] [[AbusiveParents a horrible father to Drago]], the young dragon views offspring as an investment, and is unable to [[spoiler: understand why the Matriarch chose Karasu, an elite warrior, to watch her daughter, and why Jade (AKA the Matriarch) cares about the ones she loves]].** During their fight in the Hall of Ice, Jackie [[SaveTheVillain saves]] [[TheDragon Hebi]] from a potential DisneyVillainDeath. Afterwards, she's utterly baffled as to why he did that, especially since she had previously just tried to kill him.* In ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'' (a ''Fanfic/ProjectDarkJade'' fic, just like ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'' above), [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Miranda]] is completely baffled when [[HumanoidAbomination Tracker]] lets [[TokenGoodTeammate Jade]] get nice with [[HellHound Sniffer]] after [[PetTheDog Jade gave the hound some of her food]]. Since she considers Tracker to be [[EvilerThanThou an even bigger monster than herself]], she can't believe he would be civil with Jade simply because of that, and the only way she can explain it to herself is by assuming that Jade used some kind of spell. She's still convinced Jade is using magic when the spider-girl sees her playing with Sniffer in the next chapter.* This shows up in ''FanFic/{{Webwork}}'', another Dark Jade fic, as well.** Jade can't seem to wrap her head around why her family and friends aren't happy about [[TranshumanTreachery the changes]] in her life.** The Mexican crime boss known as the Old Colonel admits to this, stating that while he knows that the J-Team won't allow any harm to come to him out of a sense of morality, and is counting on it, he just can't understand ''why''.** [[TheBrute Tarantuala]] is infuriated by the fact that Jade has [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]], and can't seem to get why someone with Jade's power isn't actively killing people and the like, as [[FullyEmbracedFiend she uses her transformation as an excuse to act out her darker impulses]].* ''FanFic/GettingBackOnYourHooves''' BigBad, Checker Monarch [[spoiler: (Trixie's sister)]], has this problem--specifically, she's so far miscalculated how much Trixie's friends care about her and how willing they are to forgive her. Justified as, according to WordOfGod, she's based on real life [[TheSociopath sociopaths]], who, by definition, are unable to understand concepts such as compassion and empathy.** In the sequel ''Fanfic/TarnishedDiamonds'', after the previous story's BigBad, Checker Monarch, told Diamond Tiara she was just like her as a filly, then had her schemes exposed, Diamond is trying to change, not wanting to turn out like Checker, especially since [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes she loves her family]] and doesn't want to become someone who would torture them. The thing is, while she's had a HeelRealization, she doesn't yet get ''why'' bullying the CMC is wrong (though she is trying to repress her desire to do so).* ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'':** Discord has this problem, and it's even outright mentioned at one point by Twilight as being his FatalFlaw. Celestia also mentions in the [[{{Prequel}} Origins Arc]] that Discord was completely incapable of truly comprehending love and [[spoiler:is the only one of his family who had this problem, including his two EldritchAbomination parents, Havoc and Entropy. Notably, WordOfGod confirmed that Entropy, despite being an OmnicidalManiac by job description, comprehended it, and yet Discord can't.]] Discord knows this himself, but has simply chosen to ignore it and continue his sick games.** In the [[BadFuture Dark World]] [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Twilight Tragedy]] is left baffled by [[CheerfulChild Apple Pie]] being able to laugh at one of Discord's jokes after [[TraumaCongaLine having a large number of her friends murdered right in front of her]]. So she assumes the form of an Earth Pony filly named Half Light Dawn to ask her herself. She discovers that pretty much all of Apple Pie's reasons for doing so are the polar opposite of everything she believes, but are none the less logical without conflicting with hers. This ends up awakening her old emotions and memories and sending her into a VillainousBSOD that results in her HeelFaceTurn.]]** Discord is such an extreme example of this that [[spoiler:even his ''own'' acts of compassion baffle him. In the Epilogue timeline, Equestria is invaded by aliens. Discord travels to the heart of the alien empire to prank their leader...and discovers a [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} dying and sick old man on life support]]. Discord is filled with pity at the sight and gives the old man a day of perfect health. When Discord returns home he goes on a tirade because he doesn't understand why he felt so sorry for the man.]]** Dark World offers another example in [[TheStarscream the Valeyard]], who views working with others as a weakness and fails to understand why the heroes won't give up fighting. [[spoiler: The former leads to his defeat, as it's the heroes working together that brings about his defeat.]]** [[spoiler: [[BiggerBad Nightmare Eclipse/Paradox]] is [[KnightTemplar incapable]] of believing Discord could actually have good in him. She also is at a loss to explain how a [[GroundhogDayLoop previous iteration]] of Trixie obtained [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Alicornification]] and was able to leave a WoundThatWillNotHeal on her.]]** Chrysalis assumes the reason why Prince Blueblood refuses to run away from her is because he's stupid and completely lacks the survival instinct. In reality, he genuinely cares about Cadence and Celestia and was trying to help them, and he was also helping the civilians evacuate.** This trope is why [[spoiler:[[AGodIAm Queen Chrysalis' Alicornification]]]] [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor turns out differently than she planned.]] [[spoiler:Chrysalis only saw divinity as being power and considered her {{Sociopath}}y as nature. As a result, the Elements of Harmony [[VillainousBSOD giving her a heart]] to complete her and make her fit the mold of an Alicorn takes her by surprise and results in a [[VillainousBreakdown mental breakdown.]]]] [[spoiler:Cadence]] calls her out on this thinking and the Interviewers even lampshade this trope:--->'''Unicorn Interviewer:''' That's the biggest irony of them all. Those that seek [[spoiler:Godhood]] without knowing what it truly means. Those like [[spoiler:Chrysalis]]... they only see the vague outline, not the complete whole. They see power, and that's it... [[spoiler:And Chrysalis is now seeing the price of divinity. [[BigBad Discord]] is the only God with no compassion for life at all, and even he had an innate capacity for it he buried over the eons... Even the End of All Things includes an End of All Suffering...]]* ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'' is notable in that ''every single villain'' in the story has this problem, to varying degrees. The only one who is close to understanding how the heroes think is [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nihilus]], who has access to all of Twilight's memories, and even she underestimates them in the end.* In ''Fanfic/TheLastSon'', Magneto, Doctor Doom, Sebastian Shaw, [[spoiler: General Zod]], and Apocalypse cannot understand why Superman does not use his powers to conquer the world.** Darkseid, as usual. It comes with the territory of being the GodOfEvil and all.* In ''Return to Prince Manor'' the son of the Winter Queen assumes mental control over Harry and Draco and commands them to kill Snape. Problem is:-->Jarillion might be a master of compulsion, and his love of discord second to none, but one thing he had never understood and that was how the ties of blood and love bound one another, a love so powerful that even the best spell of obedience could not compel Harry to destroy Severus.* In the ''[[Fanfic/PonyPOVSeriesChaosVerse Chaos Verse]]'' (a spin off of the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries''), the BigBad is shown to suffer from this: [[spoiler: Nightmare Phobia is able to manipulate and feed off of ponies' fears, but she doesn't understand how they're able to fight those fears and break free of her control.]]* In ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime'', this trope is Averted, Defied, and Discussed. This is what makes Professor Moriarty an even more dangerous opponent than he was in the [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlockian Canon]]--he even goes so far as to ''mock'' Holmes for not having studied the affairs of the heart.* In "Metamorphosis," a part of the MLP fanfic series FanFic/TheNuptialverse, [[BiggerBad Queen Chrysalis]] is shown to not understand why Twilight still fought for her mentor, her brother, and her friends, even after they outright abandoned her, or how Cadence could continue to love a stallion that let her down.** [[SmugSnake Olive Branch]], the BigBad of ''Families'', refuses to believe that anyone as powerful as the Princesses is as selfless as they appear.*** A minor example, but Olive Branch also cannot fathom why most citizens still support Princess Celestia despite letting the Changeling Invasion happen.** A flashback to Sunset Shimmer's foalhood reveals that Celestia had her look into a magic mirror that shows the viewer their deepest desires. For Sunset, it was becoming an Alicorn and ruling solely over Equestria, and she seemed rather confused when this unsettled Celestia.** Celestia discusses this trope with Fluttershy in ''Direction'' and explains it to her truly evil beings deny seeing anything good in the world, because they are unable to grasp that others aren't as self-centered as they are.** When Trixie is gathering individuals for her VillainTeamUp, the mad showmare can't understand why Gilda immediately wouldn't jump at the chance to get revenge on Rainbow Dash.*** After [[spoiler: being freed from the Alicorn Amulet, Trixie's cellmate Olive Branch laughs at the idea that she would feel remorse on what she's done.]]** In her second appearance, [[spoiler: Chrysalis didn't expect for the Mane Five to get over their guilt in the course of one year.]]* [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Wesker]] in Fanfic/MyLittleWesker can't understand why [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic these ponies]] act so friendly and trusting to everyone they meet, after he's stuck there as a pony. At first, he's paranoid that it's all an act to gain his trust, but then concludes that these ponies are too stupid for malice.* ''FanFic/JusticeLeagueOfEquestria'':** ''Mare of Steel'':*** During the final fight of the first arc, [[DiscOneFinalBoss General Zod]] expresses confusion as to why Rainbow Dash/Supermare would settle for being Equestria's hero, when as a Kryptonian she could [[AGodAmI rule as a god]].*** In the second arc, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} is a being that runs completely on logic, and is thus thrown for a loop when Rainbow Dash [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]], based entirely on emotion, to escape a SadisticChoice that, logically, should have been escape proof.** In ''The Princess of Themyscria'', [[BigBad Ares]] seems absolutely baffled when Diana decides to keep fighting him to protect the mortal realm from his attempts at a ForeverWar, when he can't see anything of worth to protect.* In the HungerGames fanfiction ''Fanfic/SomeSemblanceOfMeaning'', [[BloodKnight Amber]] just cannot seem to understand why [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Obsidian]] would be so "dysfunctional" as to care about others and want to protect innocent "weaklings." [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove And she views love as a foreign concept]].* In WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents fanfiction, ''Fanfic/NeverHadAFriendLikeMe'', [[JerkassGenie Norm]] has trouble dealing with [[OriginalCharacter Ama]][[ShrinkingViolet nda]] initially because he's never met an unselfish human who didn't immediately try to waste all three wishes.* In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' fanfic called "Haunted Destiny", the evil ghost Valara fails to understand why Danny won't return her love after deciding to kill off innocent people to make him have more time for her.* In the MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanfic novella ''NightmaresAreTragic'', this is one of the biggest weaknesses of the Nightshadows. The one possessing Luna in general comprehends neither her code of honor nor her fundamental morality (which lead her to increasingly rebel against its control), and he in particular fails to grasp that she still loves the [[TheLostLenore memory]] of her [[OneTrueLove husband Dusk Skyshine]] from her [[{{Reincarnation}} earlier Aspect]] as [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Moondreamer]]. When Luna discovers that [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle ''is'' a reincarnation of Dusk, her resultant [[ReincarnationRomance emotions]]]] give her the strength to begin [[spoiler:FightingFromTheInside against the Nightshadow]].* It happens on a lesser scale in ''Fanfic/BleachFanWorks''. Vanilla River, an InUniverse fanfic writer who likes [[RonTheDeathEater demonizing]] Orihime [[DieForOurShip to ship Rukia and Ichigo together]], cannot understand why Orihime would say, in response, that she wants to get together with Ichigo, but does not hate Rukia, the one she would consider to be her main rival.* In one story of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Maddie gives an epic speech to Vlad how he is incapable of love. However, Vlad just shrugs it off.* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', goodness disgusts the Stardroid Terra, and he doesn't really understand it to begin with.* In a ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10946979/8/The-Bundle-of-Curiosity drabble fic]], Kunzite wonders why the Senshi continue to fight even though their master is dead. The idea that they might oppose the Dark Kingdom ''because they want to''--not because Sailor Moon ordered them to--never crosses his mind. Neither does the idea that murdering is wrong [[note]]although, to be fair, he ''was'' brainwashed into serving the BigBad[[/note]].* In ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'', [[Disney/TheBlackCauldron the Horned King]] is [[ResurrectedForAJob brought back to life]] by [[CosmicEntities the Fates]] and given a [[ImpossibleTask seemingly absurd]] [[RedemptionQuest mission]]: he must under 18 months earn a human's love or else he'll be [[SealedEvilInACan trapped]] inside [[ArtifactOfDoom the Black Cauldron]] [[AndIMustScream permanently]]. At first he's not interested to try and reach for something he (a [[IAmAMonster hideous]] warlord and [[WalkingWasteland scary]] mass-murderer) can't possibly achieve, but then he takes a prisoner to keep his return a secret. The prisoner, [[PurityPersonified Avalina]], surprises him numerous times with her extraordinarily strong [[FriendToAllLivingThings aura]] of [[FertileFeet Life]], purity and [[PluckyGirl ability to hold on to her ideals despite every bad thing that happens to her]] (because of him or otherwise). The most astonishing thing for the lich is that over the months they spend together in his castle, the girl is able to let go of her fear of him, [[SympathyForTheDevil pity]] his [[BeingEvilSucks sad existence]] and [[StockholmSyndrome call him her friend]]. Also, as he hasn't had [[SoulAnatomy a heart]] for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld centuries]], he hasn't felt positive emotions for a long time. When [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Avalina]] [[FirstTimeFeeling causes them in him]] with her beautiful [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast piano playing]] and aura, [[WhatIsThisFeeling he struggles to recognize them]].** Creeper, [[BadBoss the Horned King's]] goblin [[SycophanticServant lackey]], has for his entire life served his terrifying master, having to endure [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil the lich's chokings]] and [[FriendlessBackground his soldiers' bullying]], [[FreudianExcuse becoming a self-serving coward in order to survive]]. He's confused when Avalina [[PleaseSpareHimMyLiege begs]] for the Horned King to spare him despite the fact that the goblin [[KickTheDog caused a bad bruise on the girl's face while she was at her weakest]]. The air of kindness Avalina brings is quite alien for Creeper initially, along with his master's [[LimaSyndrome growing kindness]] towards [[MoralityPet Avalina]].* Even if he's more a WellIntentionedExtremist than an evil person,in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10669760/17/Don-t-look-back-in-Anger Don't look back in Anger]]'' Dumbledore chooses to not warning Lupin, Harry or any other member of the Order about Voldemort's plan to kidnapping Luna. His reason? He thinks that Harry, who can [[AstralProjection project his soul out of his body]], will follow her and then come back to tell them were is Voldemort's base. Hermione knows that Harry will not leave her and will die with Luna before that. Dumbledore just don't understand that because he didn't see nothing wrong in risking only one life(Luna)to end the war, even if that life is a child. It's LampshadeHanging by the author, who says that Dumbledore is unable to make an emotional connection because he had never been a parent and can´t understand that every parent in his office would die before sacrifice his or her own child. After the Dark Lord is vanquished[[RealityEnsues Dumbledore is fired from his job of Headmaster and no one, even his brother, want to have anything with him because a person who can leave kids to die will never be work on a school]].* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse''** In Carrot Top Season, the Flim Flam Brothers try to blackmail Carrot Top by infesting Sweet Apple Acres with a devastating weed and threatening to tell everypony they did it on her instructions, anticipating that nopony would believe her innocence due to their rivalry. They had never considered that Carrot Top would have already helped the Apples in stopping the infestation, since the idea of helping an enemy is completely alien to them.** The BigBad of Secret of Andalantis cannot understand why Lyra would help the seaponies and merponies, since she's not one of them.* ''Fanfic/TheElementsOfFriendship'': In Book IS (1.5), Trixie is convinced that Twilight ''must'' have spread word of her being a fraud to all of Equestria, because that's what she would have done. Later, when Sunflower [[TakingTheBullet takes the spell]] meant for Babs, Trixie is utterly baffled, as it's something she would never do herself.* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': The BigBad [[spoiler:Bagan]] has a VillainousBreakdown at one point, unable to understand why Godzilla and the other Kaiju would choose to defend Equestria.* ''Fanfic/ParallelLegends'': [[spoiler:Vaati]] doesn't understand why Princess Zelda will not return his affections, even after he points out the current incarnation of Link doesn't seem to love her. Unfortunately, he just becomes a bigger StalkerWithACrush to the point of kidnapping her and giving her a ForcefulKiss and only makes himself more undesirable.* In ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'', Allysion is such a depraved fundamentalist sociopath that she doesn't understand how Sonic could be a potential ally. Maledict suffers this too to a lsser extent, as he he is utterly baffled that Sonic is fighting him [[spoiler: despite Sonic being his "son"]]. Also becomes a plot point in Episode 74; [[spoiler: when Cosmo forgives Tsali for the things he did to her and her people, the resulting literal LogicBomb in his programming causes him to do a HeelFaceTurn]].* In ''Fanfic/SayItThrice'', Lydia's [[EvilUncle Evil Aunt]] Melinda seems completely incapable of understanding that not everyone shares her [[FantasticRacism views on ghosts]]. At the end of the story, [[spoiler: as she's [[RealityEnsues being arrested for trying to kill Lydia]] (for siding against her), she seems completely baffled as to why, as she sees it as having been justified in the fulfillment of her goals.]]* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1328572/1/And-The-Party-Died And the Party Died]]'' a Literature/NineteenEightyFour fanfic, [[BigBad O'Brien]] is face-to-face with an unusually brave dissident, who was arrested for having a homosexual affair. O'Brien brings the guy to Room101, where he is subjected to his worst fear: [[spoiler: electricity. The walls and door of the room are electrified]], and he will die unless he betrays his lover and accepts Big Brother. [[spoiler: The dissident, to O'Brien's horror, overcomes his fear and walks ''[[HeroicSacrifice right into the electric fence rather than betray his lover]]'', [[ThePowerOfLove because his love was that much stronger]]. O'Brien is so shocked to see someone defy his games out of love that he suffers a VillainousBreakdown]]. * ''FanFic/GFSerendipity'': Stan is the last person Bill Cipher expected to show up at Ford's shack. [[WordOfGod OrangePhoenix6]] mentions the estrangement between Stan and Ford to be one of Bill's reasons. Bill is later surprised that Stan wouldn't sell out Fiddleford to make him leave Ford alone.* Sort of, in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', if you accept that the four are the only “good goods” on C'hou. Everyone else is simply baffled by [[ActualPacifist their refusal to kill or even harm things]], to the point where [[spoiler: the Circle]] decides it's safer to depower and lock them up rather than let them continue behaving the way they do; they're worried that the four might try to take over the organization. Which completely misunderstands their motives, even though they explicitly say ''all they want to do is bring the Black Tower down as quickly as possible and go home''. No one can quite believe this.* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/633591/chapters/1546859 A Better Fate]] shows Littlefinger being so sure of Sansa's loyalties he doesn't hesitate to order a trial for Jon Snow, intending to destroy the last obstacle to have the girl. He never thought Sansa would feel disgusted rather than flattered by his behaviour towards her, even if he's the one to have protected her, and he was so confident she would hate Jon for being an insult towards Lady Stark's memory he forgot to take in account that Sansa would be desesperate to keep her last blood relative safe after losing her entire family.* In ''FanFic/BrideOfDiscord'' Discord is initially confused as to why Fluttershy is still soaking about the loss of her friends and freedom, instead of being happy that she is with someone that can literally give her any possession she ever wanted with snap of his claw, not getting that no material possession is equal to her very freedom and the ponies she loves. Also, it takes him awhile to realize that it just may be hard to ''woo'' somepony, he is keeping imprisoned away from everything she cares about, regardless of any comforts he can provide her.* In the ''Manga/OnePiece''/''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' crossover ''Fanfic/AGemInTheRough,'' Crocodile does not see the world in terms of good and evil, so a person like Steven completely baffles him.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'':** Gaston's unable to understand why Belle would choose the Beast over him. To him, love is just a convenient bargaining chip--or a distraction, or a function of physical beauty.** Gaston's also seemingly unable to understand why the Beast let him live at the end, if his final attack is any indication.** When the Beast is still selfish at the beginning of the film, he seems genuinely shocked that Belle would give up her freedom to take her father's place as a prisoner.* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2''. Instead of questioning how Po was able to grab the cannonballs and throw them back at his ships, Shen is baffled how Po was able to attain inner peace despite facing the one who murdered his birth parents and wiped out his people. For years, Shen has allowed the day his parents banished him to be the thing that drives him to get what he wants and continuously ignores the Soothsayer's requests that he not let his past control him. The fact that Po attained what Shen had wanted for years, inner peace, by listening to the same advice Shen ignored, completely baffles him.** Shen generally has trouble comprehending that, unlike him, Po isn't the type of person to hold a grudge (or at least he tries not to hold grudges against others). Earlier in the film, he carefully rehearsed his confrontation speech, expecting Po to angrily swear vengeance for his dead parents, only for the act to fall apart when Po just casually greeted him (but to be fair, Po was very tired and out of breath at the time, and didn't realize that Shen was the one who murdered his biological family).* While they're more 'weird' than 'evil', this is the basic premise of ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''. Jack understands the basic feeling behind Christmas, but not how traditional Christmas icons translate into Christmas feelings. The other townsfolk don't have a clue and merrily set about to twisting Christmas toys to their own scary designs because they feel this improves them.* In Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'', the Good Fairies disguise themselves as human peasants, give up their magic, move into a cottage in the forest, and raise Aurora/Briar Rose as though she were a foundling, because they know it will never cross Maleficent's mind that anyone could perform such a selfless act. As Fauna notes: "Maleficent doesn't know anything about love, or kindness, or the joy of helping others. You know, sometimes I don't think [[SympathyForTheDevil she's really very happy]]."* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', [[spoiler:Prince Hans' reaction to Anna's HeroicSacrifice and resulting recovery from her frozen heart has left him [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove perplexed and dumbstruck]].]] ** Also, The trolls entertain True Love's Kiss as being only one of the ways to save a frozen heart, [[spoiler:but Hans clearly believes that "True Love" can only come from the love of a man and a woman. He doesn't consider the love of siblings, though given his own relationship with his brothers and what Anna had told him about her relationship with Elsa, [[FreudianExcuse of course he wouldn't]]]].* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Lotso obviously never expected [[spoiler:Woody to return to TheAlcatraz to help his friends after he safely escaped, or for Ken to choose Barbie over him, a la [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort's assumption about Snape and Lily]].]]* In ''Disney/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'', Lady Tremaine and Drizella don't believe in love and assume that the King and the Prince are only being nice to them because they're obligated to be so. By contrast, it's Anastasia who realizes that [[ThePowerOfLove love is more powerful than magic]] and that the King and the Prince ''really are'' genuinely nice people. She quickly does a HeelFaceTurn.* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has this problem. He's blindsided when his Dragon Mirage makes a HeelFaceTurn after Syndrome left her to die to call Mr. Incredible's bluff. He never considered her feelings in the matter, so he felt that his reassurance that he knew that Mr. Incredible probably wouldn't kill her was enough. He's ''utterly surprised'' when she angrily tells him to bet his ''own'' life next time he gambles and walks away.** He also has a short moment where he [[CompletelyMissingThePoint completely misses the point]] when Bob calls him out on killing off real heroes so he could just pretend to be one. He thinks that Bob is talking about powers and disparaging Syndrome since he didn't have any, and retorted that he's "real enough to beat ''you''." It never crosses his mind that Mr. Incredible was actually talking about ''morality'', and meant that Syndrome was killing off good people who fought crime in order to help others so he could stage disasters and solve them [[GloryHound for glory]].* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'', when Sunset Shimmer threatens to destroy the portal back to Equestria if Twilight doesn't hand over the Element of Magic, [[spoiler:she is shocked when Twilight refuses, knowing what Sunset could do with it. Sunset never expected Twilight to jeopardize her way home to protect a world that wasn't hers.]]** Abacus Cinch, the principal of Crystal Prep in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'', is obsessed with winning the titular event. Once she becomes aware of the magic at Canterlot High, she assumes that they're using it to cheat, and promptly seeks to use it to ensure her victory. It never occurs to her that they would do otherwise. * In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', as [[BigBad Drago Bludvist]] sees it, dragons can only be controlled through intimidation and fear. Working with dragons, nurturing them instead of enslaving them, is unthinkable to him. [[spoiler: Exemplified when Toothless overrides the Dark Alpha's control to protect Hiccup]].* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'', Batman's counterpart Owlman doesn't understand why Batman doesn't come to the same conclusion about the futility of choice and thus existence.-->'''Batman:''' [[NotSoDifferent There]] ''[[SubvertedTrope is]]'' [[NotSoDifferent a difference between you and me.]] [[DespairEventHorizon We both looked into the abyss; but when it looked back to us...]] ''[[FallenHero you blinked]]''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* The TagLine to ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' is "Innocence has a power evil cannot comprehend", which explains a lot of Cpt. Vidal's actions, as well as [[spoiler:his inability to see the Faun]] at the end. Case in point: he's left utterly bewildered when Dr. Ferreiro chooses to MercyKill a captured rebel to spare him more ColdBloodedTorture at Vidal's hands, despite knowing that Vidal would undoubtedly kill him for doing so.-->'''Dr. Ferreiro:''' To obey--just like that--for obedience's sake... Without questioning... [[MyCountryRightOrWrong That is something only men like you can do, Captain]].* ''Franchise/StarWars'':** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The EvilutionaryBiologist Kaminoans cannot understand why Jango would want an unaltered son to raise.** ''Film/ANewHope'': [[EarthShatteringKaboom Alderaan gets destroyed]] by Grand Moff Tarkin as a warning to star systems thinking of opposing the Empire or sympathizing with the Rebel Alliance. It has the opposite effect, making many systems more sympathetic to the Rebellion, and in the expanded universe, it even sparked a mass defection by Alderaan-born Imperial officers. Leia even told him "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..."** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'':*** Emperor Palpatine's arrogance and relentless self-centeredness blind him to the idea that Luke would show mercy and redeem his father instead of co-ruling the Galaxy--with someone he is destined to overthrow in due time, no less--causing his carefully-laid plans to fail. The idea that Darth Vader would turn on him rather than watch his son be murdered presumably never entered his mind either.*** This is foreshadowed earlier, when Vader senses Luke aboard a captured Imperial shuttle headed for Endor. Palpatine comments that he cannot sense anything--presumably because he's turned so completely to the Dark Side that he simply doesn't recognize the rest of the Force. It also explains why he isn't more careful about provoking Vader's HeelFaceTurn: he could only sense the evil side of him.*** For Luke specifically, his main error was in not realizing that Luke didn't really seek power, to the point that some in the expanded universe speculate on whether he [[IncorruptiblePurePureness even really understood the idea of wanting it]]. While rage against Vader and the Emperor was a temptation to the Dark Side, he really had no reason to side with them.* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': ** The Joker's "social experiment" [[spoiler:uses a SadisticChoice in an attempt to prove that people are cruel at heart, but both groups do the right thing. In a gloriously believable way, no less. It's not a stretch to think that not a single typical civilian will be cruel and cold enough to actually blow up a ship, even one full of criminals. Flip side, it's also believable that there might be just one guy on the ship of criminals who's not all bad.]] Batman even spells this trope out to the Joker, who can only look at the ships, dumbfounded and disappointed.--->'''Batman:''' [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech What were you hoping to prove? That, deep down, everyone's as ugly as you? You're]] ''[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech alone!]]''** What makes it even more this trope is that the Joker [[spoiler:wasn't counting on a convict having turned his life around]].** [[spoiler:Then Batman [[ZeroApprovalGambit takes the blame for Harvey's crimes to further thwart the Joker]].]]* ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Henry Ducard, [[spoiler:AKA the real Ra's al Ghul]], doesn't understand why the Batman refuses to be [[KnightTemplar an executioner]].* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', Amon Goeth often can't understand Schindler's actions of compassion towards his Jewish workers. In particular, he acts thoroughly confused when Oskar wants to buy all of them before they go to Auschwitz, trying to figure out how Oskar will make money off this. It never once occurs to him that Oskar might simply want to save a thousand people from genocide.* Film/TransformersFilmSeries:** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'': Megatron and two other Decepticons [[CurbStompBattle gang up on Optimus Prime]]. The battle revolves mostly around why Prime thinks Sam Witwicky is [[AlasPoorScrappy so darn important]].--->'''Megatron:''' Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?\\'''Optimus Prime:''' [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope You'll never stop]] [[OmnicidalManiac at one]]! ''[[PapaWolf I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!]]''** Occurs again in the [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon third film]]. [[spoiler: Sentinel Prime has decided to cooperate with the Decepticons to enslave humanity as a work force to rebuild Cybertron. He makes it clear that he wants to ensure that the Cybertronian race doesn't die out and believes his authority as a Prime puts him above coexisting peacefully with humans. So it becomes a huge case of frustration for him when Optimus Prime, his former student, chooses to defend the freedom of mankind over the possibility of having his home restored. Optimus simply responds by saying that it was ''Sentinel'' who taught him that "freedom was everyone's right."]]** In ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]'', Harold Attinger and the rest of Cemetery Wind are incapable of realizing that there ''are'' good and bad aliens and their actions are just as evil and extreme as the Decepticons.* In ''Film/{{Patton}}'', one German points out that Patton, who they believe will lead the invasion of Europe, is facing a public backlash after slapping a soldier and may be court-martialed. He gets the reply "Don't believe their newspapers! They would never keep their best general out of the war just for slapping a soldier." That's ''exactly'' what they do (albeit as part of a BatmanGambit). This is an interesting case, as in the [[BlackAndGreyMorality harsh reality of war]], overlooking personal failings--even major personal crimes--of a great general might really be the "good" thing to do, not just the expedient thing. Keeping your best leaders in the field saves soldier's lives. [[note]]And you can always punish him after he's done doing his job, after all.[[/note]] Patton's commander, Eisenhower, thought the man was AxCrazy and liable to screw up the Alliance with his rivalry with Montgomery and his open hostility towards the Soviet Union. Putting him in charge of the decoy invasion served two purposes for Ike: it convinced the Germans that the decoy was actually real, and it kept Patton out of the front lines (and the headlines).* In ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'', Callvera's last words to Chris were "You came back... for a place like this... Why? A man like you... Why?" The reason he let them go in the first place was because he thought they were all on the same terms, and thus they would never come back to save a bunch of farmers.* Played straight in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions''--Neo's refusal to give up, no matter how badly he's beaten, allows him to push Smith into a VillainousBreakdown without saying a word. ''Then'' Neo [[spoiler: allows Smith to assimilate him. Smith is completely surprised that Neo would do such a thing, and is even more surprised when, his purpose fulfilled, he is wiped out of existence.]]* Mr. Potter from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' goes through the entire movie without picking up so much as a clue as to what makes Peter, George, or indeed any of the Bedford Falls townspeople tick. Potter's expectations that George will hand the Building and Loan over to him in exchange for a job or that the townspeople will quickly turn against George at the first opportunity are disappointed throughout the movie. It never dawns on him there's something about his fellow men that he just doesn't get.* Used and subverted early in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. Someone from the [[SchoolForScheming Academy]] says that Simon Tam "must be crazy" to have run such risks and gone to such lengths to save River. The Operative, true to his WellIntentionedExtremist nature, recognizes love for what it is: [[ThePowerOfLove something much more dangerous]].-->'''Operative:''' Madness? Have you looked at these tapes? At his face? It's ''love'', in point of fact. Something far more dangerous.* In ''Film/SupermanII'', General Zod and Ursa assume Supes is protecting the humans because they are his pets.* In the end, the BigBad of ''Film/GhostShip'' tries to tempt the FinalGirl into his trap by [[spoiler: turning into the crew mate that he just killed. He attempts to use the crewman's love to trick her, but fails horribly because he believes the material items he offers will win her over. Shows up after his ruse is uncovered when he tries to trade her life for keeping the ship afloat and can't seem to understand that she doesn't care that she may die if she can destroy the ship and free all the trapped souls.]]* In ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', while beating him up, [[EvilUncle Nizam]] remarks to Dastan his dislike of the King adopting the homeless boy and making him Prince. Earlier, the King did explain that Dastan is brave and noble, so he judged him worthy of becoming Prince.-->'''Nizam:''' I never understood why my brother brought ''trash'' into our house! Enjoy the gutter, Dastan! It's where you will stay under ''my'' rule!* In ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'', both Holmes and Moriarty employ a SherlockScan to predict the outcome of their final confrontation, and both come to the same conclusion: [[spoiler: that due to Holmes' injured shoulder, he can't win]]. However, [[spoiler: Moriarty--self-interested to the point of outright sociopathy--couldn't comprehend that Holmes was [[HeroicSacrifice willing to sacrifice his own life]] to defeat him.]]* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', after the titular superhero has soundly defeated [[BigBad the Kingpin]] and has a chance to FinishHim, Kingpin is dumbfounded by Daredevil's refusal to do so.-->'''Kingpin:''' I ... I don't understand. Why?\\'''Daredevil:''' Because [[CallBack I'm not the bad guy]].* In ''Film/TheLastStand'', [[BigBad Cortez]] seems completely baffled that [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Roy]] won't accept a bribe of millions of dollars (escalating with each offer) to let him [[RunForTheBorder cross the border and escape to Mexico]].-->'''Roy:''' My honor's not for sale.\\'''Cortez:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck your honor!]]* ''OhGodYouDevil'' features George Burns as both God and the Devil. When the Devil has manipulated a man into attempting suicide, he and God have a poker showdown for the soul. God raises the stakes, offering to cease protecting a great many of people at risk if he loses, but that the Devil will cease interfering if God wins. When the Devil considers the offer, he decides there's no way God would do this without being certain of victory, since one man wasn't worth it. To Him, one man was. It's played for a strange form of PG-rated BlackComedy.* In ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', Nathan Algren is greatly haunted by the atrocities he committed in the past as a soldier. His fellow soldier Bagley sees his own atrocities as [[IDidWhatIHadToDo duty]] and [[ButForMeItWasTuesday barely remembers them]]. Bagley cannot understand why Algren is so bothered by them.* In ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., doesn't understand why Seymour Krelborn would want to kill him, because Scrivello had never done anything to Seymour. He never imagines that anyone would want to protect ''Audrey,'' of all people.-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' What did I ever do to you?-->'''Seymour Krelborn:''' Nothing. It's what you did to ''her''.-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Her who?-->'''Seymour Krelborn:''' ...-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Oh. ''Her''.* Elsa Schneider in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''. Throughout the movie, she can’t understand that Indy doesn’t want to find the grail for the same reasons as her. She insists that [[NotInThisForYourRevolution she “believes in the grail, not the Swastika”]], but Indy retorts that she “stood up to be counted with the enemy of everything the Grail stands for.” In the end, she refuses to believe that the grail isn’t meant for her to keep. As she heads for the exit, she crosses the Great Seal and triggers the temple’s collapse. She almost falls into a chasm but Indy catches her. Instead of letting him save her, she pulls a hand free to reach the grail that she dropped. She comes so close, but her glove slips off the hand Indiana was holding and she loses her life. Henry Sr. later comments that Elsa thought the grail was “a prize” and she didn’t understand the spiritual meaning behind it.* ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'': John Milton [[spoiler: {{Satan}}]] succeeds in the beginning because he is expert in manipulating Kevin's vanity and ego. [[spoiler: He also thought Kevin would forget that he raped his wife and would lust after his demon half-sister. Ultimately Kevin loved his wife more and was selfless enough to kill himself rather than create the Anti-Christ, which literally makes Milton [[VillainousBreakdown explode]]. And when Kevin is brought back to life, Milton sees Kevin's new moral stance as just another form of vanity he can manipulate]].* At the end of ''Film/PathsOfGlory'', General Broulard is so impressed by Colonel Dax's efforts in his battle against General Mireau to save his men from public execution that he's going to offer him Mireau's place. When Dax refuses because he wasn't doing it to have a promotion, Mireau is completely dumbfounded that anyone would try to save lives without something to gain from it, and threatens to have Dax arrested.* ''Film/MidnightRun'': [[TheMafia Serrano]] is aggravated by the idea that someone like Jack would give up his family and career rather than become a DirtyCop on his payroll. [[spoiler: He also never expected that Jack would work the FBI to bring him down, instead of getting Marudukas back, which is what Jack had been focused on since the beginning of the film]].* In ''Film/RichieRich'' Laurence Van Dough spends the movie trying to break into the Rich family vault which he naturally assumes is packed with mountains of gold, jewels, and money. When he finally does enter, all he finds is various family artifacts and memories of key moments in the Richs' lives. Van Dough is stunned, unable to accept the idea that anyone would waste a vault on such "junk," not getting that to the Riches, these are true treasures. -->'''Van Dough:''' I don't get it. Where's the money?-->'''Mr. Rich:''' In banks. Where else?** The Riches don't even bother hiding how they think Van Dough is an idiot for assuming that the richest family in the world would keep their wealth hidden around rather than investing it in stocks. * ''Film/{{Downfall}}'' has Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the Nazi PraetorianGuard and the man responsible for the concentration camps, surrender to the advancing British army on the assumption that [[{{Realpolitik}} the Allies would prop up the Nazi regime in Germany to prevent the Communist Soviets from taking over]]. It seems to escape him that after all the horrendous atrocities they have committed, any human of normal moral code wouldn't consider co-operating with them for a second.* ''Film/FallingDown'': Nick, a crazed, homophobic, Neo-Nazi, hears about D-Fens [[GoingPostal antics]] and assumes that D-Fens [[NotSoDifferent is a crazed racist like him]], rather than a man having a nervous breakdown. He flips out when D-Fens tells him off. * ''Film/GreenLantern'': What ultimately brings Parallax down. Because he feeds off fear, he believes courage means having no fear whatsoever. He assumes Hal Jordan will fall because he has fear in him. Courage is about not letting fear take control, which is why Parallax underestimates him and is unable to feed off him.* ''Film/KingRalph'': [[AristocratsAreEvil Lord Graves]], in an attempt to discredit [[RagsToRoyalty Ralph]], pays Miranda, a showgirl that Ralph fallen for to [[HoneyTrap seduce him]]. When Miranda [[BecomingTheMask genuinely falls for Ralph]] and calls the deal off, Graves naturally assumes that she just wants more money. * As in the comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor has this going on twice:** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', when Ms. Teschmacher asked if he thinks that Superman is the real deal, Luthor replies that if he is, he's not from Earth. Granted, Superman ''is'' a HumanAlien, but it does show that Luthor doesn't believe anyone on Earth could be as selfless as Superman.** This is his whole reason for his hatred of Superman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': he was abused as a child, and prayed to God for it to stop, only for it to continue, concluding that either GodIsEvil or doesn't exist. Naturally, he views Superman's mere existence as an affront to his worldview.* In the original ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'', Dr. Sawyer is about the closest thing thing we have to a legitimate villain. He openly believes that the only reason Alfred likes playing Santa, or that Kris claims to be Santa, is because they are both delusional. As far as he's concerned, anyone who's that nice has be harboring a severe guilt complex.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', none of the villains is able to understand that some member of the Hurog family would ''not'' kill or otherwise sacrifice their own family members in order to become Hurogmeten instead of the Hurogmeten. Thus, Ward is easily able to pretend that, of course, he will kill his uncle to get the castle back. * In ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'', this is [[BiggerBad Ruin's]] undoing. He is sentient destruction and entropy, and only builds up one thing if he knows he can use it to destroy two or more other things later. He is literally incapable of understanding human love and emotion, that there is more to life than the chaos of death at the end, why anyone would create something and NOT seek to destroy it later, but see it grow instead. Thus, when his unwilling servant kills Elend, Vin no longer has a reason NOT to sacrifice herself, and uses the power she inherited from Preservation (Ruin's counterpart that gave up a piece of his soul to give mankind sentience), to destroy him, (which Preservation was literally incapable of doing, so he created humanity to do so for him).* The plan to throw the Ring into Mount Doom in J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' is largely this trope played straight. It's a running theme of the book.** Gandalf's plan hinges on the trope: ''"Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy... the only measure that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it."'' This assessment proves correct, and Gandalf and Aragorn are thus able to bluff Sauron into concentrating his attention on Gondor, allowing Frodo and Sam to slip into Mordor undetected. And, indeed, the moment Frodo puts on the ring inside Mount Doom, making its location known, Sauron immediately realizes the depth of his own folly and how close his destruction is.** Grima Wormtongue and Saruman are each extremely bewildered by mercy shown them by their enemies, and Saruman sees Frodo with great respect (and all the more hate for it) after Frodo lets him go.* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Morgoth never expects the Valar to come to the aid of the Noldor because "for him that is pitiless, the deeds of pity are ever strange and beyond reckoning."* In ''Literature/PresidentsVampire'', Wayman can't understand why Griff, who's dying of cancer, won't use the Elixir of Life (made of HumanResources and created by a [[{{Ghostapo}} Nazi]]) to save himself. When Griffin tells him that there are some values you'd never sell for anything, he's even more baffled.* In David Edding's ''Literature/TheTamuli'' trilogy, it is revealed that the EvilPlan of the guy who was behind the scenes in the ''The Elenium'' trilogy went belly up when one person did something he couldn't imagine happening: she gave the MacGuffin with ultimate power to someone else instead of keeping it herself.* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': At the end of [[VillainEpisode VISSER]] it's revealed that Visser One cannot understand the concept of love, in spite of having lived among humans for years and even going so far as to bear children and have a family.* Caine Soren from the Literature/{{GONE}} series seems genuinely puzzled in LIES as to why his female counterpart Diana Ladris doesn't want him to throw a helicopter full of children into a cliff. * In ''Literature/TheGreatPacificWar'', the Japanese government makes this error. They've been interfering in China and supplying arms to rebellious warlords, and they see a US mining company winning a contract there as a front for the US government to interfere in China and supply arms to the government, even though no such thing is happening.* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': It is repeatedly and explicitly stated that his inability to feel anything for anyone other than himself is Voldemort's FatalFlaw.** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone first book]], Quirrell sums up Voldemort's philosophy with the line "There is no good and evil; there is only power and those too weak to seek it." The line is said by Voldemort himself in the movie.** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix fifth book]], Dumbledore and Snape suspect Voldemort has discovered Harry's ability to access his mind, and that he might attempt to do the same, or worse, possess him entirely. [[spoiler:At the climax, Voldemort succeeds and Harry begs to be killed, but the thought of seeing his dead godfather again hurts Voldemort so much that his possession of Harry breaks.]] ** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows last book]]:*** It's his inability to understand the meaning of "master of death" that stumps him. Voldemort considers it immortality because he cannot see the world beyond himself. Harry demonstrates that it is actually [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice walking into death without fear]]]]. Ironically enough, this course of action ends with [[spoiler:[[LaserGuidedKarma Harry's resurrection]] and Voldemort's KarmicDeath]]. *** Voldemort also plays with this by challenging Harry to [[spoiler: turn himself in, claiming that he will spare the other students of Hogwarts ([[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper or the pure-bloods, at least]]) if he does so]]. As Harry eavesdrops on Voldemort, Voldemort comments that he was honestly expecting it to work. However, at the same time, Harry points out that with this move, Voldemort made ''the exact same mistake again'' as he did the night he killed his parents: [[spoiler: forgetting the power inherent in a HeroicSacrifice]]. Inherent in the challenge is the fact that [[spoiler:he assumes Harry is using everyone around him as armor. It is incomprehensible to him that Harry's friends are fighting and dying of their own free will to protect someone else.]] Voldemort may understand intellectually that he can get what he wants from someone by threatening those they care for, but he doesn't understand ''why'' they behave this way.*** Two of Voldemort's followers betray him out of love for another--[[spoiler:Snape secretly switches sides because Voldemort killed Lily, and Narcissa Malfoy withholds key information from Voldemort to protect her son]].** It's not just Voldemort and his {{mooks}} who are like this. In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets second book]], [[GloryHound Gilderoy]] [[ItsAllAboutMe Lockhart]] is so narcissistic that the thought never crosses his mind that [[HumbleHero Harry]] doesn't seek fame like he does.* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'':** ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'': Jadis' mistake when she tries to tempt Diggory in the garden (yes, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything this is supposed to remind you of something]]) is saying he could just leave Polly behind when he returns to Earth so no one will find out he stole the apple. Polly actually has her own way home, but the "very meanness of the suggestion" [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame makes Diggory realize Jadis isn't trying to help him or his mother]] and renders all her arguments moot to him.** In ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', Jadis mocks Aslan for [[spoiler:letting her kill him in Edmund's place. Just before she stabs him, she laughs about how it's a pointless sacrifice, as she'll just kill Edmund in the battle the next day.]] Aslan even tells this to Susan and Lucy, that the only reason the Witch didn't realize what would happen was because she didn't understand the true meaning of "sacrifice".* This is essentially the theme of Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'':** As the VillainProtagonist himself notes, an inherent problem demons have in their battle against God is that they fundamentally don't understand His motivation; the denizens of Hell believe that the whole concept of "love" is a cover story for something more selfish and nefarious. Hell even has a division of their research department dedicated to comprehending good. It's one of the [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption worst jobs to get in Hell]].** Further on in the book, Lewis seems to suggest that this problem is rooted in the nature of what evil is, in that evil is fundamentally incapable of creatively ''existing'' without good.--->"He has filled His world full of pleasures. There are things for humans to do all day long without His minding in the least--sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working. Everything has to be ''twisted'' before it's any use to us. We fight under cruel disadvantages. Nothing is naturally on our side."* Lewis asserts this straightforwardly, in his own voice, in ''Mere Christianity'': "Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either."* While not evil necessarily (more like inhuman), Vlad notes this about the Jeonine in ''Literature/{{Issola}}''. They hire him to kill the goddess Vera (who he's rather pissed off at), and he comments to his friends how they obviously have no understanding at all of humanity, to think he would actually do this.* Literature/{{Discworld}}: ** The New Death from ''Discworld/ReaperMan'' is absolutely baffled that Miss Flitworth was willing to [[spoiler: share her lifetimer's sand with Bill Door, the previous (and good guy) Grim Reaper]].** Reacher Gilt from ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' doesn't seem to understand the concept of trust or belief at all and just marvels at how easy everyone else is to fool. [[spoiler:He also doesn't understand Vetinari's 'angels' speech, [[IDieFree which leads him to choose the door]].]]* In Creator/SMStirling's ''Literature/IslandInTheSeaOfTime'' series, the otherwise smart and highly competent villain, William Walker, is caught out whenever somebody sacrifices their life to oppose him. He can't comprehend the act, or that being utterly callous and self-serving really offends people who can see through his charm. The scary subversion comes later when after surviving his defeat he never fails to try to understand the motivations and capacities of others.* Creator/MadeleineLEngle uses the quote above in ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime'', and it helps Meg Murray save Charles Wallace. [[spoiler:She realizes that the only thing she has which IT does not have is love. She [[PowerOfLove focuses on loving her little brother so much]] that IT is driven out in a CareBearStare of --]] hold on, [[SandInMyEyes got something in my eye...]]* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', KnightTemplar Javert cannot understand why Jean Valjean, someone he views as a criminal [[AllCrimesAreEqual and therefore evil]], would save his life with nothing to gain. [[spoiler:Javert jumps off a bridge so as not to have to perform an evil act himself: either turning in the man who saved him or allowing a criminal to go free.]]* In ''[[Literature/{{Xanth}} A Spell for Chameleon]]'', Trent hands over his sword to Bink so he will be armed while he keeps watch and [[KillMeNowOrForeverStayYourHand goes to sleep]]. Bink and Chameleon reason that Trent, despite the title "Evil Magician Trent", must be trustworthy because he is willing to trust them; an untrustworthy man would not have believed someone else to be trustworthy. (It's not the only evidence in his favor, but it's a strong piece of it.)* In Creator/SandyMitchell's ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel ''Duty Calls'', a renegade Inquisitor is quite [[KnightTemplar certain]] that Cain will appreciate why he acted as he did. Given that this included staging a massacre, abandoning innocents (including children) to an alien attack, summoning an alien attack to hide his tracks, and no less than three attempts to assassinate Cain, this does not work as expected; even a self-professed DirtyCoward like Cain is horrified.* In Creator/SandyMitchell's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''[[TabletopGame/DarkHeresy Scourge the Heretic]]'', while Kyrlock and Elyra are [[TheInfiltration infiltrating]] a smuggling operation, a man [[AttemptedRape goes to rape]] a girl also waiting to be smuggled. Elyra objects, and not comprehending why, he offers to share. Kyrlock realizes this, says that Elyra wouldn't take him up on it, but [[FakeDefector he would]]--which the man cannot believe would be false, so lets Kyrlock get close enough to brain him.* Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'':** ''Only in Death'': [[spoiler: Soric]]'s [[EvilCripple keepers]] from [[FateWorseThanDeath the Black Ships]] think that he might kill Hark. (Hark, although he would not blame him if he did, knows that he is safe.)** ''Salvation's Reach'': Due to his one-sided grudge against Gaunt, Meryn just doesn't get the other man and thinks Gaunt's all about ceremony and favour. He could not be further from the truth.* This is actually how the BigBad in the first ''Literature/GreyKnights'' book is defeated. His end appearance features him giving a long TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, stating that humanity has given up all the morals it previously held dear. He is ironically defeated by one which no daemon has ever understood: [[spoiler: willing self sacrifice. With a brilliant Interrogator giving up her life, sanity, and soul in order to learn the daemon's true name so it can be banished.]]* This is how the [[BigBad Storm King]] is finally defeated in Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'' series. He plans for every act of resistance the heroes could offer, up to and including a [[EvilIsNotAToy last minute betrayal]] by Pryrates, but is fatally weakened when [[spoiler:Simon, who, instead of trying to fight him, apologizes for all his suffering]].* In Creator/MercedesLackey's novel ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms The Fairy Godmother]]'', Prince Alexander is hunting when he comes across a knight preparing to rape a peasant girl, and the knight offers to share her with Alexander. Alexander is less than pleased. [[spoiler:It's an Elven illusion and the final test of Alexander's redemption.]]* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:** In the ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' novelisation, Count Dooku is revealed to be incapable of comprehending things like joy and friendship, translating them into things like jealousy, pride, spite, and so forth. Kind of a subversion, because Anakin eventually kills him by calling on something he ''does'' understand--''[[TheDarkSide rage]]''.** The Tarkin Doctrine[[note]]In the Legends continuity, Tarkin's line "Fear will keep the local systems in line" is not just a personal opinion but a matter of Imperial policy.[[/note]] is basically the idea that "Fear of force > force itself", but in practice tends to run towards "Fear is the ultimate weapon", as embodied by deliberately oversized ships, especially [[ThatsNoMoon the Death Stars]]. Both sides of this equation fail miserably--the moon-sized Death Stars get blown up by ships less than 35 meters long (an X-wing and the ''Millennium Falcon''), and the main thing about heroism is that it tends to involve courage, the ''refusal to give in to fear''. Essentially, the Tarkin Doctrine is a refusal to understand your opponents turned into a tactical philosophy, with all the success you'd expect.** To rub further salt into the Doctrine's wounds, Tarkin's main attempt to employ it--[[KickTheDog the tactically unnecessary]] [[MoralEventHorizon destruction of Alderaan]]--ended up neatly shooting itself (and by extension, TheEmpire) in the foot by causing Palpatine's approval rating [[ZeroPerCentApprovalRating to slip ever closer to zero]], prompting the mass defection of nearly all of the Empire's Alderaanian officers, and providing massive sympathy for the Rebellion.** Almost all of the weapons created following the Tarkin Doctrine meet the same fate, to the point where its [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Han Solo during the Yuuzan Vong war.** ''Literature/NewJediOrder'': In Yuuzan Vong society, twin siblings always fight each other to the death BecauseDestinySaysSo; seeing ''two'' sets of twins on the opposing side cooperating--Luke with Leia and Jaina with Jacen--seriously confuses them. (Truthfully, [[Literature/LegacyOfTheForce they were right about Jaina and Jacen]], just a couple of decades early.) ** This trope is also essentially what caused Darth Bane's RuleOfTwo to fall apart, culminating in both Vader's redemption and the events after Caedus' death. Darth Bane created it with the full expectation of the Sith Master either killing the Apprentice if the apprentice fails him or does not have any usefulness left, or otherwise the apprentice [[TheStarscream offing his master]] when the opportunity presents itself and/or becoming strong enough to overpower the master. He obviously never anticipated that either of the two would actually redeem themselves to the light side of the Force and either abandon the Sith way or also sacrifice themselves to take down the Sith before they killed their loved ones. He really should have, since the Sith Lord whose holocron inspired him to create the Rule of Two in the first place, Darth Revan, ultimately renounced the Dark Side, and Bane knew this.** In ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', the BigBad ''thinks'' he understands, and at least is aware of them, but he vastly underestimates their power. Throughout the book, he goes on at length about how his particular flavor of TheDarkSide is greater than any other aspect of TheForce. When he puts Leia through a particularly horrible AndIMustScream until her defense breaks, the love she has for Han, even then, ''hurts'' him, and he's unable to get through it. In the final confrontation, a MindScrew-y sequence involving him being the ultimate black hole, he swallows Luke and angrily thinks that if any of the Jedi had ever even glimpsed the truth of the Dark, it would have snuffed their tiny minds like candles in a hurricane----->'''Luke:''' ''Was my tiny mind snuffed? I must have missed that part.''** In ''Literature/StarWarsKenobi'', [[spoiler:Orrin Gault]], an embezzler and perpetrator of a MonsterProtectionRacket who's SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, is repeatedly warned by Ben to "Turn back now," and can't make heads or tails of the instruction, since Ben doesn't make any moves to expose or extort him, or do anything else that would profit from the situation.* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':** Works against the heroes in ''Literature/DeadBeat''. Harry says that [[spoiler:Butters]] doesn't know anything, but then risks his life to save him. Thomas points out that the villain won't believe he would do that out of [[PowerOfFriendship friendship]].** In ''Literature/GravePeril'', however, Harry deduces from the attack on [[spoiler:Charity and the baby]] that the Nightmare is being manipulated, as it is a demon, and demons are absolutely incapable of understanding what things like love even ''are''. [[spoiler: Therefore, there's no way it would know that RevengeByProxy would be what hurt Michael the most.]] Harry turns out to be [[spoiler: RightForTheWrongReasons. Yes, the Nightmare is being manipulated, but it's not the ghost of a demon like Harry expected, but rather the ghost of an EvilSorceror that Harry defeated earlier, who, as a human, could comprehend love. So it's Invoked, but not played straight.]]** Another ''Literature/DeadBeat'' example. [[spoiler: Lasciel's shadow]] simply cannot understand why Harry wouldn't want to be like Nicodemus, and in later books can't get that Harry is quite willing to die rather than pick up her coin- which would turn him into a FallenHero.** In ''Literature/ColdDays'', Mab explains her belief that Harry indoctrinated Molly into serving him: he protected her at great personal risk and indebted her to him by providing help. The reader--having had a close-up view of Harry's motivations--knows that she's wrong: he did the above because he's a good person who didn't want Molly to suffer.** In ''Literature/SkinGame'', [[spoiler: Hannah]]'s prejudice against the White Council (and presumably [[spoiler: Lasciel]]'s manipulation) means that they never gets that Harry's offers of mercy and warnings that they're going down a dark path are genuine, and Harry really sympathizes with them and wants to help. * In ''The First Wives Club'' by Olivia Goldsmith, the Club forms when a mutual friend commits suicide due to her husband Gil leaving her for another woman. They target Gil in particular but each of the various ex-husbands have the problem of not grasping how bad they treated their wives. The ladies end up ruining a major deal Gil set up that cost his partners several hundred million dollars. When a weakened Gil asks why they're doing this, they respond "ask Cynthia" and Gil is honestly baffled what his late ex has to do with this.** Gil had planned to buy up a Japanese company than split it apart and sell it off. The girls informed the owner of this and the man thus refused to sell rather than put all his workers out of jobs. Gil's first reaction is to simply offer more money, not able to grasp someone would put the welfare of their workers over making a profit. * ''Literature/CodexAlera'':** Explicitly pointed out in the second book when the Vord Queen that Amara, Bernard, Doroga, and their forces are fighting ends up caught by surprise and killed because, while she ''technically'' understands the concept of sacrifice, she just can't get ''why'' people would be willing to throw their lives away to prevent her threat to the rest of the world.** In the next book, ''Cursor's Fury'', the principled Amara and the ruthlessly pragmatic Invidia Aquitane are interrogating a captured spy named Rook who is working for the traitorous High Lord Kalarus. Amara manages to figure out the source of Rook's apparent loyalty to him: Kalarus is holding her daughter hostage to ensure compliance. Once Amara realizes this, she does the last thing either Rook or Invidia expects: she offers to rescue Rook's daughter, because it is the right thing to do. Rook immediately breaks down in tears of relief, while Invidia stares at the whole thing, seemingly unable to comprehend what happened because it doesn't fit into her ruthless and calculated mindset.** Used twice in the fourth book, ''Captain's Fury''. High Lord Kalarus is explicitly said to be ignorant of anything that isn't himself, while [[SmugSnake Senator Arnos]] firmly believes that Tavi is an opportunistic politician like himself who only ''pretends'' to be TheGoodCaptain for PR reasons, when Tavi is actually the genuine article.** This is something of a theme in the series. In the final book, the Vord Queen devotes much of her effort to comprehending good (or at least, humanity) but largely fails, possibly because the aforementioned Invidia is her "teacher". [[spoiler: She learns just enough to get a legitimately moving AlasPoorVillain moment at the end, though]].* In Eugene Field's ''Daniel and the Devil'': [[TheFettered ordinary decent businessman Daniel]] simply doesn't see the appeal of a life of fun and debauchery, being a respectable businessman and father of nine. The Devil is so flabbergasted by this that he eventually [[spoiler:breaks his bond with Daniel, effectively releasing him from [[DealWithTheDevil his contract]] AND letting 1001 souls go free from Hell]].* In Dickens' ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'', Uriah Heep hires Mr. Micawber as his clerk, on the assumption that paying off his debts and providing him with financial security will be enough of a vice to stop him protesting against Heep ruining the Wickfields' lives. Actually, Micawber's horrified, and uses his position to recover important documents to bring Heep down. * In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero In Hell]]'', the reason offered for why the devils tried to frame Cornelius instead of one of her other brothers, which Miranda might have believed.* In ''[[Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt Salute the Dark]]'', the Dragonflies are [[IGaveMyWord honor bound]] not to try to reclaim their lands. Stenwold points out that if they gather their armies as if they intended to reclaim them, the Wasps will assume they are not thus bound.* In Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Literature/NightLords novel ''Soul Hunter'', at the end, when [[spoiler:Ruven]] is pondering how to seize power, Talos seizes the chance for {{Revenge}} for his murder--of a [[NiceToTheWaiter mere mortal, Talos's servant]]. To humiliate him, he explicitly says he looks, dying, as that servant's death had looked.** A similar (non-murderous) exchange passes between Talos and Variel. After betraying the Red Corsairs and joining the Night Lords, Talos assumes that Variel does so out of some debt owed him from long ago. When it seems likely that the two of them are going to die in their next mission, Talos offers to 'release' Variel from his debt, to which Variel acts with outrage. It never occurs to Talos, despite all they have been through together, that Variel considers them to be friends and not just an obligation. * ''Literature/InDeath'': This trope is used ''many'' times. Then again, a number of the villains can be placed in the category of TheSociopath. This causes them to make mistakes that lead to getting arrested or killed off.* A protagonist example, Weed from ''Literature/TheLegendaryMoonlightSculptor'' is completely incapable of understanding charity or good will.* The ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' holds that the truth is objective and self-evident and anyone who doesn't understand is selfish, weak, or deluded. Most of the eleven books are spent foiling, saving, or converting those people, respectively.** According to Jagang, Richard is evil because he's evil.** An entire book is spent with Nicci holding Richard captive, trying to understand him.** Dealing with the people of Anderith is somewhere between this and RefugeInAudacity. You just have to act bigger than them, because they just don't understand compassion.** The Hakens are taught that this is true and that they're evil because their ancestors did evil, and that the Anders are good because they were victimized. It mixes with the most horrifying case of mass stockholm syndrome ever on the Hakens' part.** In the finale, Richard decides that this is true of the Imperial Order because they don't want to understand.** Notably averted with Darken Rahl and the Sisters of the Dark. They understand how good people think and plan on it.** Notably averted with the D'Harans, especially the Mord-Sith; it's assumed that this is true, but as Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd get to know some D'Harans and the D'Harans get to know their new Lord Rahl, it turns out that most of the evil of the D'Harans was a reflection of their leader, and that most of them are just people. Not all, though.* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', the villains first try to bribe Freckles to be slack in his watch.* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', Hawkfrost's plan to take over the Clans fails because he literally cannot understand why his brother would rather earn the position of Clan Leader than kill the current leader and take it.* Overseer Biron, a recurring villain in the ''Literature/StarfleetCorpsOfEngineers'' stories, doesn't understand the [[Franchise/StarTrek Federation]] or its Starfleet heroes, in particular their compassion. Why Starfleet officers and captains expend valuable resources helping non-essential crewmen or those of lesser station is beyond his comprehension. Biron is a highly intelligent being, but a product of a brutal and calculating culture that assigns worth to people based only on how productive and useful they are.* In Creator/SarahAHoyt's ''Literature/DarkshipThieves'', Thena's father. When he has captured both Kit and Thena, it does not occur to him that Kit has hostage value until she threatens to kill herself if he harms Kit.* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's OctoberDaye novel ''Ashes Of Honor'', Samson derides Toby as a sentimental fool and sneers at Tybalt for involving himself with someone so weak.* ''Literature/MythAdventures'': It's selfishness rather than evil, but in ''Myth-ing Persons'' Skeeve tries to convince a woman he's attracted to that she doesn't need to stick with her con-artist partner now that he's out of trouble. She has no idea what he means; being in trouble is a reason she'd ''leave'' someone, not a reason she'd stick with them.* Various bad guys in the Literature/HonorHarrington universe consistently don't realize two things about the heroes in the setting: either they assume that good guys won't go out of their way to help others if they don't have to, and when they do act in a benevolent manner the bad guys think that they can be intimidated into backing down. One major part of the backstory in the books set in the Talbott Cluster is based on this misunderstanding. TheConspiracy is trying to make the Manticorans look bad by fermenting rebellions on planets in a FalseFlagOperation pretending to be Manticoran agents and assuring the rebels they'll have backing, setting them up to be crushed and giving the Manticorans a bad reputation. The plan assumes that if the Manticorans find out, they will refuse to get dragged into someone else's problems, especially if it puts them at odds with the Solarians, making their reputation worse. [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight When the Manticorans do intervene]], the local oppressors assume that by threatening to kill their own citizens unless the Manticorans leave will make them back off. Aivars Terekhov corrects this misconception with kinetic weapons strikes.-->'''Terekhov:''' [[GoodIsNotSoft Why is it that people like you always think you're more ruthless than people like me?]]** A lot Manticore's nastier aristocrats (especially [[RoyalBrat Pavel Young]] and [[EvilChancellor Baron high Ridge]]) automatically assume that everyone is as ambitious, petty, greedy and morally bankrupt as they are, and therefore just about anything involving actual honor, loyalty or moral courage tends to [[SpannerInTheWorks trip them up.]] ** In particular, Pavel thinks that Honor and her cronies have some demented vendetta against him, because she successfully hurt him once and enjoyed the feeling. What he can't understand is that ''he's'' the one with a vendetta, and it's so nasty that his destruction becomes a a matter of necessity.* [[OurDemonsAreDifferent The demons]] of ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' are destructive, chaotic beings that don't understand anything except for [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]], [[HorrorHunger hunger]], and desire. The [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon King]] [[TheChessmaster Dahun]] attempts to foster order, love, and loyalty among his followers in order to make them more efficient, but he ultimately fails because, as one character points out, he understood from observing humans that such things were important, but never ''why'' they were important. Child/[[spoiler: Miranda]], a demon with a human soul, ''does'' comprehend good, but is fully aware of her unique nature and the incogruity of a demon being [[spoiler: geniunely in love with the family of the human said soul originally belonged to]], though the end of the last book indicates that [[spoiler: she's going to return to Hell and ram love and empathy down the throats of the rest of her race whether they want it or not]]. * In Creator/PoulAnderson's "Literature/TimeLag", Bors wonders why the people of Vaynamo do not seize the Alfavala land for their own use. (Though he tends more to MoralMyopia and MightMakesRight.)* A gem from ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'': "Mordred and Agravaine thought Arthur hypocritical—-as all decent men must be, if you assume that decency can’t exist."* This is a chronic failing of the villains in Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/{{Empire of the East}}''. The rulers of the eponymous [[TheEmpire Empire]] at one point attempt to bribe [[BigGood Ardneh]] into joining their side, not really understanding that there could be a being who just had no interest in the kind of power that they were offering. That being said, this trope is zig-zagged at least a little, in that at least some of them do get an inkling that Ardneh is just not like them, and has no interest in dominating anyone. They don't really understand him, but they do get that he is different from them.* Half the reason why the BigBad in the Literature/BelisariusSeries has trouble defeating Belisarius: Link can understand self-centered aristocrats just fine, and can handle groups based on statistical analysis, but an individual acting for the good of humanity? Not so much. (The other half is that Logic Cannot Comprehend IndyPloy.)* In ''Literature/{{Horns}}'' [[spoiler: Lee Tourneau]] is utterly confused by a single line in an email from a friend two weeks after his mother's death. The line? ''How are you holding up?'' In fact, he cannot fathom ''[[TheSociopath compassion, selflessness or love.]]''* ''Literature/AgathaHAndTheVoiceOfTheCastle'': Castle Heterodyne, a mad artificial intelligence built by an even madder scientist from a line of mad scientists, all complete raving villains to a man, has no idea why the Heterodyne Boys, the closest thing to a BigGood the setting has, were never impressed despite its many, many attempts to please them. The fact that it killed their mother, a literal saint of a woman, never seems to register with it.* In his [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation far from unbiased]] biography of General Moreau, Frédéric Hulot explains that Napoleon's far-reaching vendetta against Moreau stems from the fact that the selfish and ambitious Corsican could not understand why a man of Moreau's talents and influence would selflessly serve the Republic without seeking political power or personal gain.* AM, the evil A.I. of ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' is programmed unable to feel or create, but it does have creative thoughts of destruction and torture. Which it does, because it can't see humans as anything more than playthings who are utter bastards that deserve the punishments it gives them. This is expanded upon in the video game adaption, see below.* ''Literature/TheSilerianTrilogy'': Kiloran seems genuinely baffled that Baran harbors such a grudge against him over abducting and raping his wife. * In ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'', the Mahrkagir serves an [[GodOfEvil evil]] [[TheAntiGod Anti-God]] but cannot be inducted into his priesthood, because he would be required to sacrifice someone he truly loves, and his [[FreudianExcuse horrific upbringing]] left him incapable of understanding anything but death and suffering.* It's more Bigotry Cannot Understand Good, but none of the citizens in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' can understand why a white man would not only father children with a black woman, but acknowledge them and live with her family. He has to pretend to be a drunk for them to accept it.** There's a straight example in Bob Ewell's response to Atticus's question about what he did when he saw his daughter supposedly having been beaten and raped. He says that there was no reason to call a doctor, as her wounds weren't anything permanent- missing the point that ''she was hurt'', and ''he should have cared about her well being''. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]] * ''Series/GameOfThrones'':** Joffrey seems genuinely baffled but intrigued by Margaery's charity work in "Valar Dohaeris."** Kraznys mo Naklos and his fellow slave masters cannot comprehend that SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil.* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':** ''Hydro'', [[EvilCounterpart Linda]] doesn't understand why [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Chloe]] would not seize the chance to publish [[SecretKeeper all she knew]] about [[{{Franchise/Superman}} Clark Kent]].** ''Sacrifice'', Zod doesn't understand why Oliver doesn't kill him when he has the chance.** [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Tess]] also thought Chloe would leave her to die.** Mentioned in ''Hostage'':--->'''[[spoiler:Martha]]:''' ''[to Tess]'' You can't comprehend what it means to truly protect someone you love.* In the ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror Mirror, Mirror]]", Kirk and friends manage to infiltrate the evil mirror ''Enterprise'' easily, but their mirror counterparts stand out like evil sore thumbs in our universe.-->'''Spock:''' It was far easier for you, as civilized men, to behave like barbarians than it was for them to behave like civilized men.* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': The Borg genuinely cannot understand why other species would rather die than join their "perfect" HiveMind. Depending on your point of view, this may be less an example of flat-out ''evil'' and more of a BlueAndOrangeMorality problem: individuality is such an alien concept to the Borg that they consider it less a valid lifestyle choice and more a mess that needs cleaning up.** The Borg outlook borders on ValuesDissonance, as they see assimilation as a liberating act, and can't comprehend how anyone would reject the Collective. ** Another serious case of in-universe ValuesDissonance occurs when Worf discovers a prison-colony of Klingon warriors who were taken captive by Romulans and forced to adopt Romulan culture rather than their own (even raising their children with such beliefs). To a Klingon, dying honorably in combat is the highest honor one can receive, and being taken prisoner rather than being executed is the [[CruelMercy cruelest mercy]] possible (with being forced to raise children with the beliefs of one's enemy being icing on the cake). To the Romulan who's running the colony, he's sick of all the killing and torment he's spread over decades as a soldier and saw the chance to take these Klingons hostage and give them a second chance as a much better alternative than execution of war prisoners. Neither can understand the other's stance on the matter, but both are disgusted by their enemy's "cruel" outlook on the situation. * As with many crime dramas, ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has killers who never consider how people may react differently than they expect.** In one episode, hacker/killer Pelant gives Hodgins a seemingly SadisticChoice: Shut down a computer server that is draining Hodgins' millions of dollars or keep it running to stop a drone that would blow up a school in the Middle East. Pelant assumes Hodgins will either shut it down or at least waste time trying to TakeAThirdOption, choosing money first and breaking Hodgins' relationship with the rest of the team. It never occurs to him that [[spoiler: Hodgins has always hated being rich and thus has no problem sacrificing his money to save innocent lives.]]* A crucial piece of the plot of the''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' episode "End Game". A disgraced former Army commander is convinced that Clay Porter, the soldier who blew the whistle on him for torturing a man to death, must have the secret he was trying to obtain through said torture, because the only reason he can think of for Porter to turn him in was in order to go after the secret himself. It never occurs to him that Porter was just trying to do the right thing.* ''Series/DoctorWho'':%% ** The end of the special [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]], while the Second, Third and Fifth Doctors are trying to stop [[spoiler:Borusa]] from becoming immortal, the First Doctor helps him achieve his goal, resulting in the villain [[spoiler:turning into stone]].** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons "The Dæmons"]], when Jo Grant [[HeroicSacrifice throws herself in front of the Doctor]], the idea of this actually destroys Azal.** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]], the Cybermen stage an invasion of Earth, and the Cyberleader demands a complete surrender from humanity, telling them that they will be converted into Cybermen and have their emotions, fears, and differences taken away. When humanity forms a resistance and tries to fight off the Cybermen, the cyberleader reacts with confusion; the Doctor informs it that humans aren't going to willingly surrender the very things that make them human.** In the 2005 series, the Tenth Doctor's entire plan for defeating the Master hinges on [[spoiler:making the Master believe that he sent his companion Martha around the globe to collect the pieces of a special gun designed to completely kill a Time Lord, when her actual purpose is something far less simple and violent.]] And, even though the Master had fought the Doctor many times before, it works perfectly.** Inverted in Matt Smith's first finale. The Dalek presumes that since the River Song is an associate of the Doctor, she won't shoot it while it's vulnerable.--->'''River:''' I'm Doctor River Song. Check your records.\\'''Dalek:''' [[AC:Mercy?]]\\'''River:''' Say it again.\\'''Dalek:''' [[AC:Mercy!?]]\\'''River:''' One more time.\\'''Dalek:''' [[AC:[[HilarityEnsues MERCYYYY!!!]]]]** Played straight in the Daleks' previous appearance that season. They have given a robot the memories of a real human, to use as an infiltrator, and reveal that said robot is actually a bomb capable of destroying the world. They activate him, knowing the Doctor will let them flee to go save the earth. The Doctor tries to disarm the robot by reminding him of his human emotions--feelings of loss, pain and misery. Unfortunately the Daleks are perfectly familiar with this kind of emotion and it doesn't work. Amy however reminds him of love, something Daleks could never comprehend. The robot's essential humanity asserts itself and the bomb is disarmed.** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"]], the Doctor finds an ark containing the last of the dinosaurs that survived the cataclysm that wiped them out 65 million years earlier, and Solomon, a BountyHunter [[OnlyInItForTheMoney intent on selling the dinosaurs to the highest bidder]]. When Solomon assumes that the Doctor's interest in the dinosaurs is purely financial, like his, the Doctor berates him for assuming that everyone in the universe shares his values.** The Doctor ends up in a MexicanStandoff with the Daleks in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks "Destiny of the Daleks"]]: he is threatening to destroy [[spoiler:Davros]] with a bomb unless they let him leave with his captive, but the Daleks respond by bringing in several human captives and exterminating them one by one until the Doctor surrenders. He threatens to set off the bomb right on the spot, but the Daleks argue that such an action would be irrational and impossible because it would kill the Doctor as well. [[spoiler:Davros]] tells them that the Doctor is actually willing to do just that since "his logic is impaired by irrational sentiment".* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':** John Crichton was this in several episodes involving alien mind control and/or drugs. Part of it is an acquired immunity; since it happens to him so often he's quick to SpotTheThread. He's also of highly questionable sanity at the best of times, for more or less the same reason.** [[NotSoImaginaryFriend Harvey]], being a mental clone of Scorpius, is particularly confused when Crichton chooses love over revenge--he wasn't programmed to consider any opinion but those of Scorpius worthwhile.** Averted in the case of the ''real'' Scorpius, who correctly guessed that Crichton would trade his wormhole knowledge for Aeryn's safety, and quietly [[TheChessmaster engineered a situation in which his help would be required to rescue Aeryn.]] Even Crichton was impressed--and more than a little bit embarrassed, since he'd claimed that Scorpius didn't understand him two episodes ago:--->'''Crichton:''' [[MagnificentBastard Son of a bitch deserves an Emmy...]]* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':-->'''Angel:''' People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do.\\'''Hamilton:''' Yeah, but we ''[[ShutUpKirk won't care]]''.** This is also the reason that the Circle of the Black Thorn [[spoiler:make Angel sign away his role in the Shanshu Prophecy after he joins them, in an effort to prevent him betraying them for his divine reward.]] It never occurs to them that he would do good without the prospect of a divine reward, and that brings about their downfall.** Angelus is completely unable to understand why Angel does what he does or the "human condition," firmly believing that humans only exist to suffer and die.* In one episode of ''Series/{{Columbo}}'', he explains that because the killer has no conscience, she was incapable of thinking her stepdaughter would demand money as a way to expose her as the murderer rather than for the selfish reasons her stepdaughter presented.* Happens sometimes with the villains in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': ** Itassis in ''[[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Mystic Force]]'', for example, cannot comprehend how the courage of the Rangers are able to help them defeat her fellow Terrors, despite the latter being physically stronger than the former. But in a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion, she actually ''betrays'' her people in order to ''learn'' how, being a Terror focusing more on knowledge than power.** Lord Zedd devises a plan to break up the team by capturing Kimberly and a civilian in Aisha's presence so quickly that Aisha can't do anything about it. His hope: That when the other rangers find out she did nothing will rebuke her for it and the infighting will commence. Instead they just work together to try to save them. This actually shocks Zedd.* As well as in its parent franchise ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':** Perhaps the most notable example is Enter in the last arc of [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGoBusters Go-Busters]], whose immortality is assured by the backup of himself kept inside Hiromu. His plan is essentially flawless, the only mistake he ever makes being that he can't comprehend the idea that someone would willingly sacrifice their life for someone else.* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': ** ''Children of Earth'', this is the attitude of the 456. Since humanity was [[spoiler:willing to trade 12 orphans to prevent a viral pandemic]] in 1965, the aliens believe that Earth will give up [[spoiler: ''millions'' of children]] the second time around, even after the authorities learn it would doom them to a FateWorseThanDeath. When Jack Harkness claims that most of humanity would risk genocide rather than accede to the 456's demands, the aliens flat out refuse to believe him.** [[spoiler:And just to prove how much DarkerAndEdgier ''Torchwood'' is, the 456 are largely ''right''. Most humans really ''are'' pragmatic enough that they're willing to sacrifice millions of children for their own safety (at least as long as it's not ''their'' children on the line). Even Jack ends up explicitly breaking his own "an injury to one is an injury to all" ideal when he manages to defeat the 456--[[PoweredByAForsakenChild by the sacrifice of a single child]].]]** [[spoiler: In a parallel plotline, the PM seems to think that Frobisher will be able to sacrifice his own daughters. Frobisher isn't and does indeed commit his own private genocide.]]* One of Cavil's major miscalculations in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' was the naive assumption that just living as humans would convince the Final Five Cylons that human life was crap. He didn't even bother to give them abusive parents in their fabricated backstories. Compounded by his inability to comprehend that killing off people would cause the Final Five to mourn them, not stop loving them.* In one episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Barney details the aftermath of his hooking up with Wendy, the waitress at [[LocalHangout McLaren's]] (the main cast's favorite bar). It ends badly when notorious-womanizer Barney can't pick up women in [=McLaren=]'s without Wendy's disapproval. Wendy eventually recognizes that their hookup and quasi-attachment was a bad idea and lets Barney have his bimbos back, but Barney continues to throw out every drink she serves him because he can't comprehend that she isn't plotting some kind of revenge.* ''Series/{{Lost}}'', "Everybody Loves Hugo":-->'''[[spoiler:The Smoke Monster]]:''' ''Why aren't you afraid?''\\'''Desmond:''' What is the point of being afraid?\\[[spoiler:''[The Smoke Monster hesitates, then throws Desmond down the well]'']]* ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'':** Inverted in the first episode, Tom Jackman is very careful to keep Hyde from discovering that he has a wife and children; when Hyde actually finds out and pays a visit to the Jackman household, Tom fears the worst... only to find that [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu Hyde has spent a happy evening playing with the kids and chatting with his wife, Claire.]]** And ''again,'' in the third episode: when Tom wakes up one morning, soaked in blood, with a few hazy memories of meeting Claire the previous evening, he assumes that Hyde has murdered her: in fact, Hyde got soaked with blood while cutting [[SmugSnake Benjamin Lennox's]] throat--[[WhatAnIdiot after he threatened Claire and her children.]]** Jekyll's a subversion of this in general, since in the end it turns out that the source of Jackman's transformations isn't malice, it's a profound sense of true love and the need to be loved in return. Hyde's sadism is destructive because it's undirected until he knows that he has a wife and children to protect.* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Zoe's Reprise," the [=UnSub=] says that he is a big fan of Rossi's books, but doesn't understand what he means when Rossi says that he fundamentally doesn't understand why people choose to kill. The [=UnSub=] states that the urge to kill is normal for him; he doesn't understand why everyone else doesn't have that urge.* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':** Season 4 episode "Who are you?", Faith has taken over Buffy's body and experiments by trying to live Buffy's life. She gets very confused and rather upset when people are nice to her. Especially Riley. It seems that "emotionally intimate and loving" is the only way Faith ''hasn't'' had sex yet.** In Season 4's "The Yoko Factor", Spike shows that he knows what ThePowerOfFriendship ''is'' ..., but also shows that he doesn't understand it yet. He identifies Buffy's friends as strong assets ... but is absurdly confident that ''he of all people'' can cause a permanent falling out between Buffy and the Scoobies on the eve before their big fight with [[BigBad Adam]]. Spike's sowing of discord causes a semi-dramatic quarrel that angers the Scoobies for all of a half episode. Then they rally about, and unleash epic ass-kicking. Friends fight, but friends apologize and make up too. Adam, being evil, is also waayyyy too eager to imagine that a squabble will be enough to cause a serious rift between the Slayer and her friends.** In Season 6 "Dead Things" Buffy thinks she's accidentally killed an innocent bystander. Spike wants to dispose of the evidence and sweep the matter under the rug, and can't understand why Buffy wants to turn herself into the police.--->'''Spike:''' Why are you doing this to yourself?\\'''Buffy:''' ''[tearful]'' A girl is dead because of me.\\'''Spike:''' And how many people are alive because of you? How many have you saved? One dead girl doesn't tip the scale.\\'''Buffy:''' That's all it is to you, isn't it? Just another body! You can't understand why this is killing me, can you?** This becomes inverted when Spike says that he won't let Buffy turn herself in because he loves her. Buffy responds by savagely beating Spike, [[RageAgainstTheReflection implying that she's the evil thing]] who can't comprehend Spike's selfless actions.** Much earlier, The Master waffles with this trope. In the Pilot, The Master understands a heroic slayer well enough to know she'll risk life and limb to save Jesse, and baits his first trap for her accordingly. Twelve episodes later, the Master never pauses to consider that the Slayer herself has her own friends who will risk life and limb for her... and is blindsided accordingly. In his defense, he though he'd already finished her off.*** It also has to mentioned that the Council thought similarly. It's been mentioned several times that Buffy is the only Slayer in recorded history to survive longer than a few years, and it can only be attributed to her friends and allies. Seen in a certain light, it might not be that evil can't comprehend a Slayer having people willing to risk their lives but that evil not expecting something that has never happened before.* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': When Captain Mal catches up to [[spoiler: Saffron]], she claims that the reason she plays mind games and acts like a manipulative, murderous FemmeFatale is because, she believes, that's just how people are. Mal begs to differ.-->'''[[spoiler:Saffron]]:''' Everybody plays each other. That's all anybody ever does. We play parts.\\'''Mal:''' You got all kinds a learnin’ and you made me look the fool without even trying, and yet here I am with a gun to your head. That’s 'cause I've got people with me, people who trust each other, who do for each other, and ain't always looking for the advantage.* A key character trait of [[Series/{{House}} Dr. House]] is his unshakable belief that people only do good things for selfish reasons. He even states that people who value others' lives more than their own are [[GoodIsDumb idiots]] who should just kill themselves to free up their organs. Which doesn't stop him from risking his life to save Wilson's girlfriend Amber. [[spoiler: He fails.]]* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', the BigBad of season 3 is this. He genuinely cannot understand why the protagonists are targeting him. He fails to realize that it might just be because he deserves it.** More generally many of their targets are this way in that they can't realize why anyone would go to that much trouble. ** The first season finale has the team going after Blackthorne, the CEO of the insurance company who refused to help Nate treat his dying son to a possible cure because it wasn't "cost-effective." It's one thing for Blackthorne to be amazed Nate is going to such lengths to go after him. It's another that he appears honestly shocked that Nate's ex-wife Maggie (the boy's ''mother'') can't accept this was just a business decision. He really goes to her to ask for help only for her to punch him in the face and Blackthorne acts like ''he's'' the one betrayed.* On ''Series/BurnNotice'' [[TheCorrupter Larry]] has this probem with Michael in that he can't realize [[MoralityPet why]] Michael won't be more like him and enjoy his work as a PsychoForHire.* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' ** When Cole is possessed by the Source, the rest of the demons assume he is only keeping Phoebe around because he needs someone to give birth to his son and that he only wants an heir. His secretary Julie suggests casting a spell to allow her to carry Phoebe's baby and says he would be free to rule without her love holding him back. She and the others don't seem to realise that Cole ''loves'' Phoebe and that he doesn't just want to have an heir, he's excited about being a father. Unfortunately for them, the Seer can comprehend good and uses this to her advantage.** The Seer in season 7 (played by Charisma Carpenter) is a Demon and therefore can't feel human emotion. But she knows of it through her visions--which is why she strikes a deal with the sisters to become human. This trope is arguably inverted as the sisters initially wonder why a Demon would willingly give up their powers for the things they themselves take for granted.** The Triad are wise enough with this trope to appoint Cole as the one to take out the sisters in the first place. As he's half human, he would be able to blend in better and pass for human long enough to gain their trust. They then veer into GenreBlind in the same way, not anticipating that he might actually fall in love with Phoebe and be prompted to protect her instead.** When The Triad return in Season 8, they appear to have learned from this mistake. They become aware that Christy's love for her parents could bring about a HeelFaceTurn for her--so they have them killed. They guess (correctly!) that eliminating Christy's one MoralityPet will unite her and Billie together to turn on the sisters.* In ''Series/ChinesePaladin'', villain [[KnightTemplar Bai]] [[DarkMessiah Yue]] cannot for the life of him comprehend what love is, or why [[ThePowerOfLove the heroes keep surviving his death traps because of it]].* On ''Series/BabylonFive'' the Shadows brought Sheridan to Z'Ha'Dum figuring they could convert him, either willingly or forcibly. It never occurred to them until it was too late that he might [[spoiler: crash a ship loaded with nuclear bombs into the city he was currently inside]] just to slow or stop them.* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': ** Regina, [[Literature/SnowWhite The Evil Queen]], seems incapable of understanding good, like how Snow White's childhood mistake (that resulted in the death of Regina's lover) was not meant maliciously and how she honestly thought that [[TheChosenOne Emma]] would leave her to die in a fire. This and her GenreBlindness are why she doesn't understand how her power in Storybrooke is weakening, nor why Gold (Rumplestiltskin), who seems to understand good quite well, is rather confident that Emma will break the [[IdentityAmnesia curse]] on the town.** Regina's mother, [[EvilMatriarch Cora]], also fails to grasp goodness. She firmly believes that love is weakness, and when she tries to steal Snow's heart, Emma jumped in front of her to save her, and Cora couldn't rip out Emma's heart because Emma's (untrained) magic, based on love, is far stronger.** Hook doesn't understand why [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Belle]] won't help him kill [[MagnificentBastard Rumplestiltskin]]* On the [[Characters/SurvivorSamoa Samoa]] and [[Characters/SurvivorHeroesVsVillains Heroes vs. Villains]] seasons of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', this was a huge source of contention for fans of Russell Hantz. The comments on [[http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=8dcEdJ3jAik these Youtube boards,]] [[http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=ylGU1DZMHRQ by a user named Joel Lefevre,]] self-demonstrate this trope nicely.* ''Series/{{Monty Python|s Flying Circus}}'s'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVRQK58jrbw merchant banker sketch]] involves a banker who is utterly unable to grasp the concept of charity.* ''Series/TheShield'': [[spoiler:In the GrandFinale, Vic's plan to make himself into a KarmaHoudini ends up instead turning into an IronicHell, in part, because he honestly doesn't seem to have considered that his new bosses with a federal law enforcement agency might not want a confessed liar, thief, extortionist, drug dealer, torturer, and cop killer in anything close to a position of authority, even if they are contractually obligated to give him a paycheck.]]* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', "Warriors of Kudlak": Mistress is incapable of understanding why peace is worthwhile or desirable to anyone, seeing it only as an end to the usefulness of soldiers and generals. [[spoiler: She's a computer created by a race that was caught in a war they never expected to end--she was never programmed with any understanding of peace, and actively covered up that the Uvodni--the race that created her--had been at peace for ''ten years'' by the time of the serial. The eponymous Kudlak--an AntiVillain who does not share her outlook at all--is ''pissed'' when he finds out.]]* In the second series of the British version of ''[[Series/HouseOfCardsUK House Of Cards]]'', the VillainProtagonist, Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, simply cannot understand why the King of England repeatedly speaks out against his government's cruel social policies when none of these policies have affected the King directly. When the King personally explains his reasons to Urquhart, namely that he wants to see all of his subjects prosper and be happy, Urquhart laughs off the notion and simply believes the King is attempting to make a power play.* ''Series/TheFlash2014'':** Captain Cold thinks Flash became a superhero for the adrenaline rush, which is the reason why he became a criminal.** Hunter Zolomon/Zoom kidnapped Caitlin, convinced he loves her and can get her to love him again through StockholmSyndrome. He doesn't understand that she fell in love with [[spoiler:Jay Garrick]], a good man with a heroic drive, not a SerialKiller.** Zoom is also convinced Barry is a hero so he can feel clean and that it's all an act. Because Zoom spent so long [[spoiler:pretending to be Jay Garrick]], he's convinced Barry finds it exhausting, not realizing Barry is a hero because he loves helping people.* Several examples from ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}''** Like Lex Luthor, Maxwell Lord has a hard time accepting Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} is sincere in wanting to help people and not having an ulterior motive of some sort. His attempts to prove she's not a true hero involve exposing Kara to Red Kryptonite which ironically turns her into the very menace Max feared.*** In the season finale, Max is baffled by Kara's refusal to accept the "acceptable losses" of a few thousand people to save the entire planet. ** Astra and Non cannot understand why Kara feels so much closer to the people of this "primitive" planet that she grew up on rather than the race she long considered dead.** When he engages his ultimate plan to take over the minds of everyone on Earth, Non makes it clear he truly believes he's doing humanity a favor by "freeing" them of such distractions as emotions and individuality so they can focus on the problems of Earth. Kara, Cat and even Max all argue that saving the planet means nothing if the people aren't free to enjoy it but Non doesn't grasp what he's doing is wrong. ** James Harper is convinced J'onn J'onzz must be playing a "long game" to conquer Earth as there's no other reason for an alien with shapeshifting and telepathic powers to pretend to be a normal human and help another planet. ** Siobhan Smythe assumes that being as successful as Cat Grant means being an AlphaBitch who takes shortcuts and manipulates those around her. Siobhan never quite gets that Cat got where she was through hard work and holding to a code of ethics. *** When Cat is unsure of publishing a story of Supergirl going rogue, Siobhan tries to sell it to the ''Daily Planet'', assuming they'll jump at the chance to out-scoop a rival. It never occurs to Siobhan that Perry White would have the integrity to call up Cat and tell her about the offer first. ** Lillian Luthor actually seems surprised that after treating daughter Lena as garbage all her life, Lena would refuse to have any loyalty to the Luthor name. ** While they may not be purely evil, Mon-El's parents, Lar and Rhea, are shown to truly not understand how it was wrong that in their rule of Daxam, they basically kept the populace enslaved and lived the high life on the backs of the poor. When Mon-El (who's changed his attitude due to living on Earth) refuses to go back and rebuild it, his parents are baffled as to why he thinks the old Daxam was so wrong. ** Off of that, Rhea believes that by killing Kara, Mon-El will just naturally come back to Daxam...ignoring the tiny fact that she'd have ''murdered his girlfriend.'' Lar finally understands Mon-El wants to stay and lets his son choose his path, telling his wife they need to let him grow and live his own life. Rhea's response is to murder her husband and continue to "save" Daxam. * In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', this is ultimately averted with the demons. As we learn a few seasons in, this is because [[spoiler:they were all human before being [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured for centuries in Hell]]]]. Ironically, this is ultimately played straight starting about the same time we learn that secret, with [[spoiler:Heaven's angels. They're all dicks and, having never been human, can't understand humans]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]* Wrestling/EddieKingston's 2007 and 2008 was spent beating up and destroying most of the young technicos on the Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} roster, breaking Shane Storm's nose twice, bruising everyone from Tim Donst to Soldier Ant. Along comes Lince Dorado, who was beginning to become TheScrappy and is getting roundly booed by every crowd. Eddie continues the beatings on Lince, who continues to get up and keep asking for more. Kingston announces that he will never again wrestle Lince, because his tenuous grip on sanity gets confused every time Lince gets up for the people that boo him.* Ever since Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr's 2011 HeelFaceTurn (which is basically him being more friendly and no longer acting like a RichBitch), heels like Wrestling/MichaelCole and [[Characters/WWEInc Jinder Mahal]] have expressed confusion over why he would do this.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':** The {{sourcebook}} ''The Book of Vile Darkness'' introduced the Vashar, a subrace of coldly evil humans. The Vashar are said to literally be unable to comprehend "positive" emotions, to the point that most of them wouldn't think to use a hostage as leverage, because they don't consider that the victim's friends would care about them.** Likewise, one ''D&D'' book provided [=DMs=] with the advice that a mind flayer sorcerer might be able to predict any action the heroes would take, but couldn't see that they'd be willing to perform almost certain suicide to prevent him because he doesn't care enough about anything to risk his life. Mind flayers, like the Vashar, are said to be unable experience any emotion more positive than a sort of satisfaction during feeding. This trait is even self-perpetuating; mind flayers don't learn emotion from each other, but from resonance stones, psionic deelies that emanate a specific emotion. Because the mind flayers building these can't feel love or joy, they can't build stones that project love or joy, and as such the next generation of hideous tentacle-faced monsters won't understand love and joy either.* In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'', [[TheFairFolk the True Fae]] are utterly unable to understand human motives and rationale. This isn't just a weakness, it's a ''defining trait''--if one ''does'' start to understand a human's viewpoint, they lose most of their powers in the process, and in some cases lose their memories of their true nature outright.** This trait is potent enough that Changelings base their own government around it. The governing of their territories is routinely passed between Courts because the Fae simply ''cannot'' comprehend the idea of mutual cooperation and the willing sharing of power, which aids in concealing Changelings from the Fae.* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':** The Deathlords have this as one of the only weaknesses in their [[TheChessmaster strategic genius]]. As the Abyssals splatbook puts it:---> Deathlords are notoriously selfish beings, almost incapable of truly understanding others. They might, for instance, do nothing more than ascribe their own thought processes to their enemies. ("Of course you returned to rescue your sister. Doing otherwise would suggest weakness in the face of your enemies!")** And then there's the Ebon Dragon. The Ebon Dragon is ''bastardry incarnate''. ''Everything'' it does is centered around the idea of dicking someone else over. How bad is he? He had to create [[BigGood the Unconquered Sun]] just so he'd have a concept of what he was ''supposed'' to oppose. What's more, he's explicitly incapable of comprehending the motivations behind any kind of heroism save by dismissing it as abject insanity on the part of the hero. This doesn't prevent him from preying on the "crazy heroes", because he doesn't need to understand their motivations in order to identify and manipulate their desires.** The Yozis are pretty nasty individuals and have trouble understanding that anything can operate by different rules. Their leader Malfeas has to suffer a genuine psychic fracture to understand that another being's viewpoint matters ''at all'', and all the others are similarly limited. The Ebon Dragon knows that beings can feel positive emotions, but he doesn't understand them. He ''can't'' understand them. He will assume in any given situation that people are trying to dick everyone else over, because, well, that's what he'd do. This is simply how they work.* Most of humanity in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe just want to live their lives free of war. [[OurOrcsAreDifferent The Orks]], [[AxCrazy on the other hand]], find war to be not only a bloody good time, but the only endeavor worthy of their time. To an Ork, peace is as horrible a concept as war can be to a human being. This also extends to cultural aspects, orks are naturally bald and use furry biting 'air-squigs as hair implants and use their teeth as currency, not understanding why no other species in the galaxy ever accepts these two bartering items. And since to orks, the leaders grow bigger because he's in charge and vice-versa, so it took them a while to realize the highest-ranked Imperial is not the tallest but the one with the fanciest hat and BlingOfWar. * While ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' avoids identifying any color wholly with good or evil, White and Black both appear to have this dynamic with each other when the designers write articles describing their perspective as though they were people. Black justifies its selfish amorality by claiming [[AtLeastIAdmitIt everyone else is just as selfish and amoral as it is]] and hates White for being a hypocrite (and admittedly also for White's dedication to Black's complete annihilation). White, on the other hand, believes that the morality it subscribes to is the basic nature of life and shared by the other colors despite their actions; in White's view, Black knows right from wrong in the exact same way White does and ''deliberately chooses'' to do wrong, making it irrevocably evil. Perhaps fittingly for their names, Black and White are the colors least capable of understanding others could ''possibly'' view the universe differently than they do. Things get interesting when [[YinYangBomb White and Black are mixed.]]* Demons and devils in ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' do not possess any of the SevenHeavenlyVirtues and have to strain themselves even to imitate them briefly. This often takes them into VillainBall territory: lacking Faith or Charity prevents them from cooperating even towards common goals, lacking Hope and Prudence undermines their long-term planning, and lacking Justice makes them relatively easy to lie to.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]* In Arthur Miller's play, ''The Pussycat and the Expert Plumber who Was a Man'', a talking cat starts climbing the political ladder under the alias Tom Thomas, by blackmailing anyone who could expose him. In the end, his gubernatorial campaign is thwarted by an expert plumber (who is a man), who [[HonorBeforeReason doesn't care what secrets (real or fabricated) might be exposed about him, so long as people realize they've been voting for a cat]]. The cat is one of the few examples to actually realize he misjudged humanity (well, a few of them, anyway).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'': While more of a [[TheHedonist hedonistic]] BloodKnight than actually evil, Augus, as shown in a flashback, can't seem to understand that Asura fights to protect his family; as far as he's concerned, the ''only'' reason to fight is for the sake of fighting.* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':** This constitutes the core of The Riddler's beliefs as evidenced in ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', with regards to Batman. To wit: he believes Batman is a VillainWithGoodPublicity bribing the Gotham Police Department and stealing money from the crooks he captures, because "no one's that selfless."** Likewise, in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', the Joker is completely baffled over why Batman chose to [[SaveTheVillain save him]] from falling to his death. The [=GCPD=] are also confused, deciding that the only reason Batman would "jump off a building to save the Joker's sorry ass" is that they must be partners.** The Joker does end up coming to this understanding at the end of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' when the bottle of serum needed to save Joker's life gets smashed on the floor. Batman gives him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.---> '''Joker:''' Quick, the cure! What are you waiting for? Come on! I killed your girlfriend, poisoned Gotham, and hell... it's not even breakfast. But so what? We all know you'll save me.\\'''Batman:''' ''[pondering whether or not to give the cure to the Joker, after drinking some of it]'' Every decision you've ever made ends with death and misery. People die. I stop you. You'll just break out and do it again.\\'''Joker:''' ''[laughs at the absurdity of cat and mouse]'' Think of it as a running gag!\\''[the Joker leaps out and stabs Batman in the shoulder, causing him to drop the vial containing the cure, shattering it]''\\'''Joker:''' No!\\''[Batman pulls out the knife while the Joker drops to the floor and begins desperately trying to grab some of the cure]''\\'''Joker:''' Are you happy now?\\'''Batman:''' You want to know something funny? Even after everything you've done, I would have saved you.\\'''Joker:''' ''[laughs, coughs]'' That actually is... pretty funny... ''[starts laughing and coughing, then gasping for air and finally dies, smiling]''* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''** An [[InGamenovel in-game book]] found throughout the series contains an interview with a Dremora, a type of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]], which reveals their view of the mortal races. Daedra, being immortal, are unable to comprehend why mortals do not succumb to despair in spite of the knowledge that their own existence is finite.** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', [[PhysicalGod Tribunal deity]] Vivec's BatmanGambit to defeat [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] banks on this. Dagoth Ur believes that [[PlayerCharacter the Nerevarine]], who possesses each of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Tools of Kagrenac]], has brought them to draw power from the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]], the source of Dagoth Ur (and the Tribunal's) divine power, to make his/herself immortal as well. Thus, he spends much of the fight [[AGodAmI toying with]] the Nevevarine and [[IShallTauntYou taunting him/her]] about his own power. He doesn't realize until it's too late the the Nerevarine actually intends to destroy the enchantments on the Heart, denying it's power to ''anyone''. ([[NoImmortalInertia Power that Dagoth Ur requires to exist]].)* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'':** Shepard usually wins for two reasons: first, the [[EldritchAbomination Reapers]] underestimate just how though they and the rest of the team is, but second and more importantly because they can't comprehend the fact that Shepard is willing to throw themself into almost certain death for the sake of others.** If playing Shepard as a paragon, the Illusive Man makes a similar mistake [[spoiler: by not having any backup plan to seize the Collector base when Shepard decides to blow it]] other than relying on Miranda (and possibly the rest of the Cerberus personnel on the ''Normandy'') to get it for him. Of course, he hadn't even known their base ''was'' a space station until Shepard landed on the damn thing.** The Reapers also fail to predict that the Protheans might choose to sabotage their ''next'' attack rather than fighting to the last man to survive the ''current'' one, and their efforts to keep an alliance from happening in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' by pressing on the borders of all the major species run into trouble when the various races ultimately prove willing to support the overall plan rather than protect their own borders at the expense of everyone else. Then comes the Miracle at Palaven, when they don't predict commandoes willingly accepting their own deaths rather than risking indoctrination while placing nuclear weapons inside their carapaces. Really, the most common cause of Reaper defeat and inconvenience is that they assume everyone else is as devoted to self-preservation as they are and thus get dragged down by a HeroicSacrifice.* In ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburV'', Final Boss [[LightisNotGood Elysium]], the soul of [[UnholyHolySword Soul Calibur]] cannot understand why anti-hero turned [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome true hero]] Patroklos refuses to kill his sister Pyrrha even though she's become a [[DemonicPossession Malfested]]. After she is slain in the final battle, her last words are "I don't understand."* [[BlackMagicianGirl Morrigan]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is quite confused by her feelings of attachment to the Warden, though she eventually does grow to [[HeelFaceTurn accept]] [[DefrostingIceQueen them]]. She also tends to be confused by any action that doesn't involve being an utter asshole due to being raised with a StupidEvil mentality by a HumanoidAbomination.* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', when Galuf's BerserkButton gets pressed and he charges Exdeath in one-on-one battle, the villain comments that "not even all the hatred in the world can destroy me!" Sure enough, Exdeath gets his ass beaten because it wasn't hate, but [[ThePowerOfLove something else entirely]] that made Galuf fight on ''while at zero hit points''.* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Kefka, upon gaining godhood, believed that [[StrawNihilist living life and creating things is pointless due to the fact that they die anyways and that creation is inevitably destroyed anyways and meaning nothing in the end, as well as being baffled as to why they continue doing these]]. Terra, as well as the rest of the Returners, cite how, despite living in the crapsack state that their world is in, still celebrated the event of living, as well as love, even citing their experiences. Predictably, Kefka does not take it well, declares their references "sound like pages from a self help book" in disgust and then preparing to destroy all reality. At this point, Kefka [[spoiler:[[AGodAmI has become a veritable god]], and so it is likely that he actually knows these things to be true (at least in this setting) rather than it simply being his philosophy. The heroes' pleas fail to convince Kefka otherwise, primarily because little if any of what they say actually applies to him (he has no friends or family, so that takes care of about half of it right there). From his point of view his goal is ([[OmnicidalManiac ironically]]) fairly logical.]]* ''VideoGame/EarthBound:'' Giygas [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm cannot grasp the true form]] of human emotion.* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero:'' Dr. Weil's many {{Breaking Speech}}es failed because Zero is a PunchClockHero.* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'':** Completely inverted with Sargeras, the creator and leader of the Burning Legion. Originally belonging to a race of god-like beings called the Titans, he and his kind traveled throughout the cosmos to bring order to worlds; they were so powerful they defeated the Old Gods, the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s of Azeroth, and created the dragons to become the world's stewards. While defeating and imprisoning the demons of the Twisting Nether, their evil caused Sargeras to question the Titans' quest for order. He was driven into depression after witnessing the chaos wrought by the demons, especially after defeating the vampiric Nathrezim, whose manipulative bastardy on various worlds affected him deeply. Eventually, he went completely off the rails with the belief that the Titans' quest for order was essentially ''wrong'', given that he saw the Universe as intrinsically chaotic and evil. The last the Titans saw him, Sargeras had freed the demons he had personally previously imprisoned, made them a part of his army, and sent his Burning Legion to bring war upon the Universe, putting into action the corruption of the Draenei and Orcs, the birth of the Lich King, and the multiple near-destruction of Azeroth itself. An example of GoodCannotComprehendEvil taken to epic proportions.** Then again, the Legion itself seems time and time again to be unable to comprehend mortal beings. They never seem to consider the possibility of mortals putting aside their hatreds for each other to fight the Legion, nor did they predict that the Lich King would turn against them instead of submitting to his new position as a tool of the Legion (essentially, a lesser being defying them).*** Played with by the Nathrezim, who are cunning enough to wage warfare at a distance, stoking up conflict between factions to distract them from the real threat, and manipulate useful pawns to enact their will with plausible deniability. This does not stop them from making slip-ups of this variety on occasion. One happens when their leader, Mal'Ganis, assumes [[EvilPrince Evil Prince-in-training]] Arthas won't exact revenge on him for leading the destruction of Arthas' homeland of Lordaeron and forcing him into a SadisticChoice at the town of Stratholme, since Arthas' soul was just consumed by his new weapon, Frostmourne. But having no soul does not prevent Arthas from enacting his revenge upon his opponent. At all. ** A particularly famous example occurs when Grom Hellscream stands against Mannoroth, the demon whose blood he drank on two separate occasions, setting the stage for his clan--and separately, his race--to become thralls of Mannoroth's demon masters. After swatting aside Grom's brother-in-arms Thrall, Mannoroth boasts about the part he played in Grom's corruption and mockingly declares they are the same. (Mannoroth was a tyrannical ruler of his race who willing joined the Legion and served as a frontline commander during the War Of The Ancients.) In a dramatic moment equal parts BigNo and ShutUpHannibal, [[HeroicSacrifice Grom buries his axe deep into Mannoroth's chest at the cost of his own life]], a clear statement that they are not.* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'':** Should the player character decide to take the good ending, [[spoiler:Fontaine rants about how he created Jack, made up his memories and stuffed them into his brain, showed him the world, brought him back to Rapture--"If that's not family, I don't what is!"--shortly]] before the Little Sisters appear and demonstrate what family ''really'' means. With needles.** A milder example occurs with Andrew Ryan, who seems to be incapable of understanding selflessness or even believing that it truly exists. "In the end, all that matters to you is you, and all that matters to me is me. It is the nature of things." He says this regardless of whether you've made selfish decisions up to this point or not. Tellingly, Ryan also admits that he cannot 'raise a hand' against his own flesh and blood, further playing into the hypocrisy of his own belief system.** Dr. Yi Suchong. In Literature/BioShockRapture, he utterly fails to recognize Tenenbaum's HeelFaceTurn. In contrast, Ryan and Fontaine are at least able to understand Tenenbaum's change of conscience.* While subtitled, ''Videogame/SpyroTheDragon'''s Malefor is clearly caught off guard when [[spoiler: Cynder is freed from his mind control by the PowerOfLove]]. In the entire battle, this is about the only thing that actually seems to truly surprise him.* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'': The entire reason for the Peace Walker project is because [[BigBad Hot Coldman]] genuinely believed that humans were too weak-willed to actually retaliate against a nuclear strike even to save their own lives, going so far as to have Peace Walker transmit false data to NORAD in order to force the military to decide whether or not to retaliate. Posthumously, Coldman is proven wrong when the military actually ''does'' try to order a retaliatory strike, and are only prevented from doing so [[spoiler: when Peace Walker drowns itself in Lake Nicaragua to stop the data transmission]]. Venom Snake even lampshades this on a cassette tape in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]'':-->'''Venom Snake:''' "Humans are incapable of destroying themselves?" Turns out he never knew ''what'' humans are capable of. * ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}:''** ''Videogame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': Laharl hates love and thinks it's worthless, [[spoiler: at first]].** ''Videogame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'': Rozalin cannot understand why Adel would want to escort her home instead of using her as a pawn in his own plans. She is willing to fight to protect Hanako and Taro, but believes she's only doing that because they are her "vassals", and caring for your vassals is what nobles are required to do.** Mao in ''Videogame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'' has this problem. Despite his obsessive research on super hero tropes, cliches, and plot devices, he just doesn't get stuff like love and courage. He knows they exist, but can't make heads or tails of them.** ''Videogame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'': Valvatorez, a nice guy for a demon, has the balls to accuse ''God'' of this. He claims that even God could not have foreseen the demons' use of ThePowerOfFriendship to defeat his creation Fear the Great.* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'':** This was ultimately [[spoiler:Ghetsis']] downfall. [[spoiler:His own dialog shows he personally believed everyone saw Pokemon as tools, just as he did. Because of this, he allows his son N to encounter Pokemon that had a truly caring relationship with their trainers, causing N to question Team Plasma's cause and befriend the player character, whom Ghetsis continuously underestimates because he doesn't believe they ''can'' behave selflessly and/or care about their Pokemon. As a result, the player acquires the other legendary dragon, defeats N, and for a nice bonus personally curbstomps Ghetsis with ThePowerOfFriendship. Cue [[VillainousBreakdown screaming breakdown]].]]** Bites [[spoiler: Ghetsis]] again in the sequels, where he insists to himself aloud, on-screen, that Pokemon ([[spoiler:and "that inhuman freak" N]]) aren't sentient and so ''can't'' hate him, only [[ItsAllAboutMe serve him]]. Right in front of two trainers, at least half a dozen Pokemon, two legendary dragons, [[spoiler:and one "inhuman freak"]], [[{{Understatement}} none of whom agree with him]]. He also dismisses Colress's research verifying ThePowerOfFriendship, despite having personally hired Colress to study how best to make Pokemon powerful [[spoiler:and lead Team Plasma in his stead]].* In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum]]'', Cyrus's conviction that [[StrawNihilist the nature of human spirit is what is wrong with the universe]] leaves him dumbfounded that you would stop him from [[OmnicidalManiac destroying reality]] [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial to start over]].* Implied in ''Videogame/DungeonKeeper'', especially the first game. Before each mission, The Evil Mentor gives you a brief introduction to the land you're about to conquer. He seems both revolted and amazed by the happy, peaceful, non-violent lives the peasants are able to lead. One town, for example, is described as 'a truly bizarre realm' because the inhabitants prefer talking, laughing and singing over arguing, drawing daggers and murdering each other in a gurgling rush of blood.* [[DefectorFromDecadence Sagacious Zu]] manages to trick [[TinTyrant Death's Hand]] into burying himself in ''Videogame/JadeEmpire'' because Death's Hand wasn't prepared for the possibility that his foe would sacrifice himself to complete his goal.* This is the key to success in ''VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''. Each of the initial five scenarios are prepared with AM assuming his captives would fall victim to their baser desires, [[spoiler: but to complete them each character has to overcome their flaws and make sacrifices, [[LogicBomb which utterly baffles the mad AI]], who can not see humans as anything but utter bastards. In the endgame, you have to defeat three computers representing AM's Ego, Superego and Id. Using the Forgiveness totem on the Ego causes him to shut down, since he can't comprehend how anyone would forgive him for all he's done]].* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': Dimentio simply thought that, after the heroes used up the Pure Hearts to defeat Bleck, they would be gone for good, thus meaning the only threat to him after backstabbing a weakened Count Bleck and gaining the Chaos Heart would be forever gone. As such, he ends up legitimately surprised when the Pure Hearts return (thanks to the love between Bleck, Tippi/Timpani, and his followers) and remove his invulnerability.* ''VideoGame/FearEffect'': Yim Lau Wong (The King of Hell) turns out to have no concept of human decency. If you make the choice to not have Hana and Glas shoot each other, The King of Hell will fly into a rage and say "Mei Yun, you have come too far to ''disappoint'' me!"* Played for laughs in ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic 2'' with [[TokenEvilTeammate HK-47]]. The player has the option of installing something that turns out to be a pacifistic program, which they will uninstall after the ensuing hilarity of a the AxCrazy droid saying he couldn't harm another living thing. After expressing disgust at the thought that he nearly surrendered to peace and pacifism, HK-47 comments "It was close, but for a moment I thought I understood why some meatbags would prefer friendship over a high-powered blaster carbine." Apparently he can't grasp why anybody would not want to kill someone. In another conversation he explains "love" in terms of a difficult sniper shot.* The BigBad of ''Videogame/{{Persona 4}}'', [[spoiler: Izanami]], expresses her disbelief that [[spoiler: "the will of so few could surpass the will of so many" in regards to the protagonist's [[ThePowerOfFriendship Social Links]]. She also can't understand why humans wouldn't want to live in ignorance.]]* Evil in general doesn't seem to have any real problems with understanding good in ''Videogame/StarControl''. The [[spoiler: Neo-Dnyarri]] gets bitten in the ass by self-serving pointlessly cruel evil not being able to get honourable evil, though: [[spoiler: it]] sends you against the most powerful race in the region to get killed. That would be fine... except that race happens to have been enslaved by [[spoiler: the Dnyarri]] and with the sort of sense of honor that would let you just leave the area unmolested (once) for warning them about the [[spoiler: Dnyarri returning]].* Despite his alchemical and tactical genius, Hazama/Terumi Yuuki from ''Videogame/BlazBlue'' either considers the spirit of goodness (and what motivates people into doing good) a means to [[ManipulativeBastard use people to serve his whims]] ([[spoiler:like Litchi and Tsubaki]]) or considers it shitty and boring, if he understands it at all. In the ''Slight Hope'' story from Extend, however, this bites him square in the ass. [[spoiler:He was merrily carrying out his plans in the ''Wheel of Fortune'' timeline when Makoto Nanaya fell in from the ''Continuum Shift'' timeline, and when she got beat up after parrying a hit on Jin, he dismissed her as merely a "damned squirrel" best left to Relius. Between that incident, honesty to Tager and Kokonoe regarding her intentions, trusting Bang with rescuing Jin, and counseling Tsubaki (and asking her about the unknown-to-Makoto nonexistent Noel Vermillion), she [[SpannerInTheWorks altered the timeline in a way that caused Hazama's plans to implode]]--even he was forced to admit asking Tsubaki about Noel caused it to self-destruct. Given his assassination attempt on her in ''Continuum Shift'' proper, which takes place days later, he has never forgiven her for this insult.]] And yet, despite all that, it has done ''nothing'' to his opinion on goodness, much less make him stop acting like scum. All he really learned is to let his buddy Relius take care of her... [[TemptingFate so what happens if he can't deter her]]?* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'':** The BigBad, Caesar's FatalFlaw is that he is a massive egomaniac, which leads him to arrogantly assume that any resourceful and competent person ''must'' obviously agree with his worldview and invites [[PlayerCharacter the Courier]] to work for him. It doesn't matter if the Courier is a goody-two-shoes dedicated to protecting the downtrodden and needy, and so far have focused their efforts on supporting [[TheFederation the NCR]] and messing up the Legion's plans. He will assume you agree with his brutal regime purely because you are a capable badass, and task you with vital missions without making even a token effort to change or even acknowledge your past allegiances. The biggest moment of this comes when you can pretend to have destroyed House's bunker, and Caesar offers to repay you by killing Benny. If you try to release him Caesar will chastise you for not enjoying violence and blackmail you into killing Benny yourself by threatening to crucify him. And after all that effort to manipulate you into doing something you clearly didn't want to? He smugly boasts about how sure he is you loved it.** In the epilogue of the Dead Money DLC, if Dean Domino, whose manipulations before the war were pretty much why the Sierra Madre is a hellhole, is still alive he'll learn of how his former accomplice Vera Keyes was addicted to Med-X and Super Stimpacks (which he used to blackmail her) due to a terminal illness and the story of how Sinclair tried to sacrifice himself to save her. It's stated that he felt strangely sad for a moment [[IgnoredEpiphany but has no idea why]]. It's at least enough to make Dean finally let go of the Sierra Madre...and set his sights on New Vegas. The backstory of the DLC also shows that Dean saw Sinclair's happiness as a form of self-righteousness and that he felt as if Sinclair was simply rubbing his success in his face.** In the Old World Blues DLC it's possible to get EvilutionaryBiologist Dr. Borous to feel tremendous guilt about how he treated Gabe, his beloved dog who was loyal to the very end, as a test subject that he subjected to countless experiments (including turning him into a Cyberdog and pumping him full of combat drugs). When it finally hits him, he has no idea why he suddenly feels so horrible, deciding that he doesn't like this feeling and quickly suppresses it, though it's hinted that it still lingers. That's if you spell it out for him; If, however, you take his side without question, [[UndyingLoyalty just like Gabe would]], he can't shake the guilt and reaches this conclusion on his own, which causes him to begin treating his test subjects more humanely.** Joshua Graham's unique .45 Auto Pistol "A Light Shining in Darkness" has the biblical passage used as the page quote engraved on it in Greek.* In ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'', the BigBad [[spoiler:Heiss, Stocke's uncle,]] cannot comprehend in the true ending why Stocke is willing to be the Sacrifice unlike himself. Stocke explains that, ironically enough, it's because of the BigBad. [[spoiler:Heiss raised him with earnest love as his nephew and introduced him to people he would treasure as his friends. Unlike Heiss, Stocke had people he cared about enough to give up his own life to protect.]] In a twist, [[spoiler:Stocke's words reach Heiss and Heiss offers himself as the Sacrifice to save Stocke.]] * Handsome Jack of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' has an understanding of "good" that is at the very least incredibly skewed and deeply delusional. He honestly believes himself to be a hero attempting to bring civilization to Pandora while at the same time gleefully relishing torture and laughing about a time he [[EyeScream gouged out a man's eyeballs in front of his children]]. He seems to believe that being a hero is simply being rich and powerful enough to kill anyone you don't like.* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', [[spoiler:if Corvo spares Daud, the assassin who murdered his beloved Empress,]] [[HumanoidAbomination the Outsider]] is utterly shocked. This is the ''only'' thing that will surprise the Outsider. It doesn't do anything to change his [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters low opinion of humanity as a whole]]; he merely considers Corvo to be an exception to the rule. * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Vanitas repeatedly mocks Ventus' firm belief in ThePowerOfFriendship. It does ''not'' end well for him.** In the [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI first game]], "Ansem"/Xehanort believes that darkness is the heart's true essence and thus, Kingdom Hearts, as the most powerful heart, must have the power of supreme darkness. Thus, when he tries to harness the power of Kingdom Hearts, he instead gets blasted by its light.** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', both Marluxia and Larxene are utterly perplexed, and even slightly annoyed, that Sora consciously chooses to protect Naminé from them even after discovering that [[FakeMemories his memories of her and their supposed friendship were all lies]]. Larxene even flat-out calls Sora a delusional idiot.** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' Xigbar proves just how much he ''doesn't'' get it by trying to induce a HeroicBSOD in Sora by telling him that since his friends are his power, Sora has no real power of his own. This only manages to affirm Sora's belief in ThePowerOfFriendship, since that means he's part of something much bigger. Xigbar is utterly baffled by Sora's reaction and pulls a VillainExitStageLeft.** Organization XIII has a bit of a problem with this: their entire plan with Xion in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'' got hopelessly derailed because they didn't anticipate the effect having true friends would have on her. Both Roxas and Axel wind up betraying the Organization out of loyalty to their friends, and the higher-ups seem utterly baffled as to why they would do this. Xaldin also is shown to believe that [[GenreBlindness love is a weakness (in a Disney game)]], which causes his pet project with the Beast to fail horribly in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''.* ''VideoGame/{{Infamous}}'': ** In ''VideoGame/{{Infamous 2}}'', [[PlayingWithFire Nix]] always advocates the Evil Karma decisions for Cole, and whenever someone else suggests a goal that involves helping people and getting them to fight by Cole's side willingly, Nix not only scoffs at it, but acts like they're crazy for even thinking of it. From what she tells us of her childhood, she probably hasn't met too many nice people in her life.** [[BigBad Brooke Augustine]] of ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'' is [[spoiler: literally incapable of imagining a world where [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Conduits]] and humans coexist peacefully. Peace itself seems to be an alien concept to her; there's only fear, more fear, and fear on top of fear to keep people in line. The Conduits she keeps imprisoned are miserable and experimented-upon remorselessly. The humans are kept in line through coercion, and she herself is the source of most of the propaganda painting Conduits as nothing more than {{Living Weapon}}s. When the government is considering shutting down the D.U.P. because it's done too good a job of containing everyone, she goes out of her way to engineer an escape just to keep herself in power...so she can keep Conduits "safe."]]* Quite a few villains in the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series suffer from this trope.** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': As the only humans he faced prior to Link were cowardly and either hid or turned to Hylia for protection when faced with him, [[BigBad Ghirahim]] is driven to a VillainousBreakdown over the fact that Link keeps ignoring his threats and challenging him. It's more along the lines of Evil Cannot Comprehend Courage, but the basic idea is the same. [[spoiler:Demise]], on the other hand, is pleasantly surprised to discover such courageous behavior, [[BloodKnight though for seemingly different reasons]].** Ganon(dorf) has a similar reaction in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', openly failing to understand why the heroes won't just give up and let darkness win when things seem hopeless, fighting and ultimately securing an "impossible" victory. Weirdly, this is actually an appearance where he's much more of a PragmaticVillain than usual, sometimes verging on AffablyEvil--he's willing to support his underlings and listen to them when they have good ideas, and shows grudging but genuine respect for the heroes at times for their courage, skill, and cleverness.** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' also has Cia, who doesn't understand why Lana is trying to stop her from trying to [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill Zelda so she could be with Link]]. As [[spoiler:Lana is Cia's good side made manifest]], she believes she is doing what they both want deep down as [[spoiler: they're the same person. Even as she lays dying, Cia musters the strength to ask Lana how can she live knowing that in every era, Link will always end up with Zelda and she'll always be left behind. Lana merely replies that you don't always get the person you want and she can live with that.]]--->'''Cia:''' Lana... I thought this was what you wanted. ** Zant in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' cannot understand why he was rejected by the Twili people in favor of [[spoiler:Midna]] and truly believed he was doing the right thing for all Twili by invading Hyrule and plunging it into darkness. Midna [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech all but spells out the trope for him]]. --->'''Midna:''' Traitors, ha! You want to know why none would call you king? It was your eyes, Zant. All saw it, a lust for power burning in your pupils. Did you think we'd forget how our ancestors lost their king to such greed? * Happens during the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', where the BigBad kidnaps the party except for Lloyd and attempts to {{Mind Rape}} them by torturing them with their personal demons (all of which the BigBad can also relate to, as he's suffering from the same kind as them.) Lloyd manages to find them and help them confront and overcome each of them (involving forgiveness, courage and acceptance,) leaving the BigBad dumbfounded each time.* ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'': ** ''DMC 4'', [[BigBad Sanctus]] repeatedly scoffs at the concept of love, even explicitly dismissing Credo's love for his sister Kyrie as foolish. Unfortunately for him, it's this view that, according to Dante and Nero, renders him unable to truly harness the power of Sparda's sword. Similarly, when Agnus is unable to understand how Dante defeated him, Dante spells it out for him.--->'''Dante:''' You surrendered your humanity. It's ''that'' simple.** Also in ''DMC 1'', where Trish has no idea why Dante rescues her from a falling debris, despite her betraying him.--->'''Trish:''' Dante, why did you save my life?\\'''Dante:''' Because you look like my mother.* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'':** During chapter 23, when Pit calls [[spoiler: Hades out on eating and thus [[CessationOfExistence destroying souls]], thus preventing them from moving on or being [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnated]], Hades flat-out tells Pit that he sees no difference between removing souls from existence and reincarnation. Though, considering [[{{Troll}} his personality]], he could just be saying that to mess with Pit's head.]]** [[NatureSpirit Viridi]] is another example, though she isn't necessarily evil. She just doesn't understand what [[WideEyedIdealist Pit]] and [[GodOfGood Palutena]] see in humanity and frequently questions why they would fight so hard to protect [[HumansAreBastards a species she considers inferior.]] At the end, when [[spoiler: Hades]] is defeated, she gets into one last debate about humanity, but when she realizes she isn't changing their minds, she leaves off in an annoyed huff.* Navarre from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' isn't necessarily "evil" so much as "classist douchebag", but when he and some of his friends try to lure Flynn, a Casualry, into a trap, one of his subordinates sees Luxurors Jonathan and Isabeau come to Flynn's aid, and can't comprehent why a Luxuror would come to the aid of a Casualry. [[ShutUpHannibal Jonathan points out that the role of a Samurai is to help out others, regardless of their social standing.]]* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': In the final mission [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Devin Weston]] tries to goad [[spoiler: Franklin into killing Michael for him in exchange for taking the heat from the Feds off his ass, and laughs at the idea of him trying to save both Michael and Trevor. Depending in your choice, you can pick C, where Franklin has Michael and Trevor reconcile and they destroy all of crew's enemies, including Weston]].* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': Zanza expresses disappointment that Shulk and company reject his offer of friendship. Shulk responds that Zanza doesn't understand what friendship is, what he thinks it is is absolute loyalty so that he can use them as a food source.* [[spoiler:Flowey]] in the Neutral ending of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': [[spoiler:After defeating his OneWingedAngel form and freeing the [=SOULs=] he had enslaved, you are given the choice to execute him or spare him. If you choose to spare him, he makes you confirm your choice several times, all the while pointing out that he is the ultimate cause of everything bad that had happened to you, threatening to kill you and everyone you love, and finally screaming that he doesn't understand why you're doing this.]] Mercy, apparently, is a foreign concept to this character. [[spoiler:It's ultimately revealed that as TheSoulless he is outright physically incapable of compassion or any kind of feeling for others.]]* In ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', Megatron doesn't understand why Optimus and the Autobots would fight so hard for a planet that's not even theirs, especially one inhabited by lowly organics. [[spoiler: At the end, after being defeated in their final battle, Megatron reveals he's [[SadisticChoice rigged the Ferrotaxis so that the only way to stop the Insecticons from cyberforming Earth is to destroy it]], firmly believing Optimus wouldn't sacrifice years of Cybertronian culture just to save a lowly backwater planet. Predictably, Optimus proves him wrong and destroys the Ferrotaxis, much to Megatron's shock.]]* [[Franchise/{{Lunar}} Lunar series]]:** In ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'', the villain's sinister plot begins when he witnesses an act of divine altruism and perceives it as abandonment. [[spoiler:Magic Emperor Ghaleon could not understand why the Goddess Althena chose to relinquish her powers when it meant the world would lose her oversight, and plotted to fill the void she left...with himself.]]** In ''[[VIdeoGame/LunarEternalBlue Lunar 2]]'', the villain uses the heroes' feelings of friendship and love in a BatmanGambit against the heroine, [[spoiler:bringing her under his control.]] But he never imagined that those same emotions would empower her to overcome him.* A very common theme found in the antagonists of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV'', aside LoveMakesYouEvil. Subverted with [[spoiler:Leonard Testarossa]]. After witnessing [[spoiler:[[Anime/CrossAnge Embryo]]]] and what he was planning to do, he realizes what he's been doing and hates everything he's done. Unfortunately for him, RedemptionEqualsDeath.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* Completely subverted in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' in ''Heaven's Feel''. [[spoiler:Despite trying to destroy the world in large part ForTheEvulz, the reason Kotomine decided the ''reason'' he would do that is he understood good perfectly well. He's just unable to actually do it and feel satisfied no matter how hard he tries. Apart from his background material, he gambles away his entire magic crest to save Sakura knowing that Shirou's righteous spirit will make him protect her from ''anything''. In fact, his XanatosSpeedChess was entirely reliant on exploiting the 'good' nature of Shirou.]]* ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All]]'': [[spoiler: Matt Engarde hires professional assassin Shelly de Killer to kill his rival, then uses a hidden camera to film the crime as insurance in case de Killer tries to blackmail him. However, de Killer places great value on the trust between himself and his clients and is outraged at this betrayal. Engarde clearly never considered that [[EvenEvilHasStandards some crooks might have higher standards than him.]]]] * When everyone confronts the Mastermind at the end of ''VisualNovel/{{Danganronpa}}''. [[spoiler:Junko, being pretty much despair personified, manages to get everyone to cross the DespairEventHorizon by revealing that the world outside the school has been destroyed, and all their efforts to escape have been for nothing, as there's no guarantee they'll even survive if they step outside. Makoto, having become Ultimate Hope at this point, manages to give everyone their HeroicSecondWind, to which Junko freaks out and screams "What the hell are you!?"]]** Earlier, Byakuya is utterly shocked when he [[spoiler: he misses a crucial detail involving Sakura's death, while Makoto manages to discern it with ease, and completely flips when he learns the reason: he never imagined that Sakura would commit suicide in order to protect her friend.]]** The first miscalculation the BigBad makes is framing Kyouko for [[spoiler:Mukuro]]'s murder: the plan fails because they didn't consider the possibility that someone would willingly take the fall for Kyouko and die in her place. Similarly, they didn't predict that [[spoiler:Alter Ego]] would make a HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler:to prolong Naegi's life]].* Minor example in one ending of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors''. [[spoiler: Ace]] tries to bribe a dying [[spoiler: Snake]] not to kill him via a murder-suicide by [[spoiler: claiming he has access to hospitals that could save the should-already-be-dead Snake.]] He's so self-absorbed and sociopathic that he can't imagine that [[spoiler: Snake doesn't '''want''' to live after Ace killed his beloved sister, Clover, and just cares about making sure Ace pays for it -- the idea of caring about someone so much that losing them causes your own life to be meaningless is utterly alien.]] [[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* The {{Villain Protagonist}}s of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' are not only confused by Good, they are confused by [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2007/02/08/episode-806-relief/ any plan which does not include murder or theft]]. And apparently, [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/11/22/episode-1063-post-emptive-strike/ they cannot comprehend why the Other Warriors don't hate each other, either]].* A rather bizzare subversion occurs in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}''. When Kore, a KnightTemplar Extraordinare chases a group of goblins and takes one of them prisoner, he proceeds to torture him, (correctly) expecting the others to hear the screams and try and save their comrade. However, judging from his uncompromising approach to "evil" races, you'd think he'd consider such "irredeemably corrupt and wicked beasts" as goblins to be incapable of selflessness and comradeship.* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': ** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0547.html #547]], Redcloak assumes that the humans would think highly of the goblins who spared them and despise the paladin who did not save them. In fact, the humans are heartened by the paladin's resistance to Redcloak. That strip shows the real problem the humans and goblins have with each other--neither sees the good in the other.** Similarly, Redcloak seems honestly perplexed that O-Chul ''doesn't'' know anything about Girard's Gate, since obviously the paladins would need to know about it in order to protect it. He knows about the oath they took to leave Girard alone, but simply can't understand that they'd [[HonorBeforeReason risk the apocalypse in order to keep their word]]. ** There's a similar "Chaos Cannot Comprehend Law" example in Girard's emnity with Soon, spelled out starting in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0694.html #694]]. Girard was so unshakably certain that Soon would find some excuse and loophole to come find his Gate--in spite of his Oath not to--that he tailored his Gate's defenses with Soon in mind. It didn't occur to him that not only would Soon keep his oath, but hold his subordinates, the order of paladins he founded, to the same oath. --->'''Belkar:''' Hey, back it up a second: I thought you said that bluffing against a paladin was easy money?\\'''Haley:''' Sure, if you grasp how paladins think. Mr. Booby Trap here clearly doesn't, or he wouldn't have bet on one to break his oath.** Earlier, in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0069.html #69]] the following exchange occurs after Elan [[SaveTheVillain saves]] his [[EvilTwin brother]] from falling:--->'''Nale:''' I'll never tell you anything about Xykon.\\'''Elan:''' Yeah, I know. But I didn't save you so we could interrogate you. I saved you 'cause I'm the Good twin, not the Neutral twin.\\'''Nale:''' ...I don't get it.\\'''Elan:''' Yup.** Yet another example is Nale's inability to understand that despite their differences, Roy and his sister Julia really do love each other. After all, [[CainAndAbel shouldn't all siblings have a violent hatred for each other]]?** A protagonist example in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0523.html #523]], in which Belkar is unable to understand the benefit in freeing slaves.** In ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'', Xykon defeats Dorukan and seals his soul within a gem along with the soul of former teammate Lirian. His only understanding of love being mostly just sex and rape, he just assumes that this is AndIMustScream. However, he actually unites the souls of two lovers for eternity.** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0759.html Actually, no, Elan does not appreciate atrocities being committed on his behalf.]]** Similarly, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0783.html strip #783]]. No, it's not that weird that Elan doesn't like watching people suffer just because they got the better of him once.** In strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0813.html #813]], General Tarquin attributes [[TheHero Roy]] going out of his way to rescue bystanders to "stylistic differences".** In strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0880.html #880]], it's how Haley knows that [[spoiler:Belkar's telling the truth about Durkon having been killed and turned into a vampire by Malack. She knows that Belkar couldn't make up the part about Durkon's last wish being for Malack to spare the rest of the Order, since Belkar couldn't conceive of anyone being that selfless.]]** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html In strip #936]], Tarquin, who is hanging from the edge of the ''[[CoolAirship Mechane]]'' attempts to [[ExploitedTrope use this trope to his advantage]], thinking that Elan will save his life to prove the hero is better than the villain. [[spoiler:Elan refuses, abandons his father, and points out that the rules for falling in their RPGMechanicsVerse mean that Tarquin isn't actually in any danger, turning this trope into Evil Cannot Comprehend GoodIsNotDumb.]]** In Strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0963.html #963]], [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel seems incapable of following the emotional link between one of Durkon's childhood memories and a more recent one. Later, in strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1009.html #1009]], his inability to comprehend CharacterDevelopment comes back to bite him--in an attempt to break Roy's spirit, he mentions having "always wondered" how many pieces Eric's body ended up in when he died, which Roy knows is [[SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay something Durkon would never even consider]] before becoming Evil.]]* Why Bud's plan to destroy the Turquoise Lake summer camp [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2014/08/27 falls apart]] in ''WebComic/{{Precocious}}''. It hinged on the campers acting like the Gemstone kids.* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}''. [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-09-18 Buddha is happy, despite not having all Satan's stuff. Therefore, obviously, Buddha's priorities are screwed up.]]* ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'': ** A group of politicians dig up an old, unfulfilled contract involving ancient relics to seize Quentyn's old hometown. Quentyn [[PullTheThread pulls the thread]] on the whole thing by going out to try and fulfill the contract, even if it takes him the rest of his life. Because of laws concerning such contracts, even if he dies trying, the contract is canceled.** In fact, a few comics later, other characters outright state this trope. The politicians have no answer to the heroic sacrifice, because when they started their bid to take over the town they completely overlooked the possibility that this could happen.--->"[The Hero] made a move that they completely failed to prepare for. Unsurprising, I've found that schemers and plotters are rarely able to cope with simple things like honor and courage."* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Baron Wulfenbach is definitely an antagonist, though perhaps not an outright villain. However, he can't understand that some things ''don't'' have a sinster ulterior motive behind them. For example, when an opponent allows his severely battered army to withdraw from the battlefield, he immediately sends out scouts to search for the flanking force preparing to destroy them they must have missed. That his opponent is genuinely trying to avoid further bloodshed never even crosses his mind. To be fair, such a thing ''is'' pretty unprecedented [[{{Realpolitik}} in the setting]]. * ''Webcomic/GrimTalesFromDownBelow'': [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Him]] is upset when his daughter betrayed him but not at the betrayal itself, but the reason for Mimi's betrayal is for the lover of her friend. Him even said that if she betrayed him for petty reasons, he [[BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad would've been proud.]]* In [[http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/291/ this page]] of ''WebComic/LookingForGroup'', TokenEvilTeammate Richard listens as Kale and Benny finally consummate their sexual tension. But since he has no concept of making love, his first thought is that Kale is killing her.* Deconstructed with Meenah in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. When her girlfriend, [[spoiler: pre-RetCon Vriska]], is being tormented by [[spoiler: post-RetCon Vriska]], she proclaims to agree with the latter party, deciding that all of the loving and kind qualities that led to the pair being lovers in the first place really does make the former party a weak person. Meenah figures that being evil is simply a part of her genes and cannot be changed and leaves to help the bully's plans, clearly distraught by her choice.-->MEENAH: what you need to know is -->MEENAH: like -->MEENAH: ...-->MEENAH: im-->MEENAH: bad* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Sirleck cannot understand why [[OurElvesAreBetter Raven]] would [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2190 do charity work for military veterans.]]--> '''Sirleck:''' What's the point of living for centuries if you're going to let your heart bleed? * The spirits of the SevenDeadlySins in ''Webcomic/{{Widdershins}}'' aren't evil so much as antagonistic and utterly single-minded, but {{Lust}} freely acknowledges that he doesn't understand how humans function with "such a mess of chaotic emotions." Consequently he assumes that LoveIsAWeakness and overlooks how strong some of the couples in the story are with each other as backup.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* In [[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2009/09/10/vampires-crosses/ this]] blog post, Fred Clark theorizes that this is the reason vampires fear crosses.* Inverted in [[http://www.giantitp.com/articles/XbsQgS9YYu9g3HZBAGE.html this article]] by Rich Burlew, author of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. The heroes in a game he was [[GameMaster DMing]] assumed that two villains who had allied together were [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder inevitably going to betray one another]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness once they had achieved their goals]]... it never occurred to them that [[VillainousFriendship they might be good friends]].* PlayedForLaughs by WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick, who surmises the popularity spell in ''Film/TeenWitch'' as "having all the awesomeness of the messiah with none of that martyr shit".* In ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', Ma-Ti has a meltdown when WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic closes the door on the real world and proves that he's become a true hero. Unlike most examples of this trope, Ma-Ti has known the Critic first hand as a colossal, selfish, {{Jerkass}} ManChild. His shock is more understandable under the circumstances, making it more of a case of Evil Cannot Comprehend CharacterDevelopment.* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic: PlayedForLaughs in his review of ''Film/{{Casper}}'', when the titular ghost is stunned to see Critic praising the movie and resorts to a GroinAttack.* In one ''[[Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse Global Guardians]]'' story, it was the titular hero team who invoked this trope. They were literally handed the exact location of Osama bin-Ladin and the rest of al-Queda's leadership by Lord Doom, one of their greatest enemies shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the fall of the World Trade Center (an event that took the life of one of their teammates). It took the Global Guardians nearly a week to take advantage of this intelligence because they could not think of a reason for Doom to help them that didn't involve an ulterior motive, a trap, or a distraction from some bigger scheme. Turns out, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Doom helped them out of a sense of horror, disgust, and anger for al-Queda's targeting "innocent bystanders".]]* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', this seems to be a factor in the MistakenForBadass situation between Sparadrap and Dark Avenger. Sparadrap considers that Dark Avenger and him are FriendlyEnemies, while Sparadrap's InvincibleIncompetent tendencies have convinced Dark Avenger that he's actually an elite player displaying ObfuscatingStupidity. Dark Avenger's standard reaction to Sparadrap's friendly lines can be summed up as "quit that little trick you use to get you opponent's guard down, it doesn't work on me."* In the [[Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom Alternate History.com]] timeline ''Literature/{{Reds}}'', a communist revolution takes place in America in 1933 as a result of the Great Depression. Despite some [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized dirty business]], the new leadership [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified does not sink into the depravities of the Soviet Union]], and chooses not to execute political opponents like Robert Taft. This confuses a Soviet diplomat, and ''really'' pisses off Joseph Stalin.* This pops up on several occasions in the [[Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom Alternate History.com]] ''WebOriginal/ZhirinovskysRussianEmpire'', in which the balance between goodness and political reality is frequently highlighted:** A standoff between the UIS and the US over Kosovo has push the WTO countries to the brink of WorldWarThree. Slobodan Milosevic fires the first punch and attacks Zhur, not thinking Bob Kerrey would care about Kosovo. It escapes him that Serbian and Russians then-recently [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide committed horrible crimes in Chechnya and Bosnia]], and that Kerrey wouldn't want another horrible attack committed against an ethnicity. When Kerrey does order an airstrike against the Serb army, Milosevic is left looking like an idiot.** [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Vladimir Zhirinovsky]] floods the world with fake US passports, thinking that a flood of illegal immigrants would destroy America with racial strife. It doesn't occur to him that Americans aren't as racist as he is. %%FunnyAneurysmMoment?** The UIS is able to engineer a crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia that could [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum devastate world oil supplies]], and pushes America in either [[SadisticChoice backing down and losing credibility, or going to war with Iran, and causing a worldwide energy crisis]]. The UIS is blindsided when [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption Bob Kerrey writes an apology letter to the moderate Iranian president]] ]]. ** When ever someone objects to or tries to prevent a war crime, expect the perpetrator to react with confusion and[=/=]or annoyance.* After the gang in Machinima/RedVsBlue manage to stop [[spoiler: The Chairman's]] plans to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out the people of Chorus]] and expose his corruption to TheFederation, he smugly gloats that they are now surrounded by his personnel security force and as good as dead, only for them [[ShutUpHannibal to remind him that they also just stopped his plans]] and prepare for their last stand. To which [[spoiler: The Chairman]] can only repeatedly that they are about to die, as if he does not understand that they may be ''okay'' with [[HeroicSacrifice dying knowing that their actions saved an entire world.]] [[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': ** The resident [[ManipulativeBastard "people person"]], and [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] Azula finds herself [[VillainousBreakdown completely bewildered]] when [[spoiler:her {{sidekick}} Mai risks her life to help the TurnCoat Zuko escape TheAlcatraz]].--->'''Azula:''' [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove The thing I don't understand is]] ''[[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove why.]]'' Why would you do it? [[YouHaveFailedMe You know the consequences.]]\\[[spoiler:'''Mai:''' I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. [[ThePowerOfLove I love Zuko]] [[MachiavelliWasWrong more than I fear you]]]].\\[[spoiler:'''Azula:''' No, ''you'' miscalculated! You should have feared me ''more''!]]** This moment of her inability to comprehend that love can trump self-preservation and loyalty born of intimidation has limits, flying in the face of her philosophy that "fear is the only reliable way" to control people, is actually the first step down the road towards her epic VillainousBreakdown. However, she's at least able to learn from this mistake and apply it to her strategy in the GrandFinale (while she was in the middle of said breakdown no less).** This becomes something of a running theme for Mai. In the comic ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderRebound Rebound]]'', her father is confident she'll want to join his movement to overthrow Zuko after she breaks up with him. He never expected [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters his freedom fighters would be Mai's terrorists]] and miscalculates her response as badly as Azula did.** In episode "The Beach," Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, and Azula all take turns confessing their problems, and helping each other talk through their issues. When it's over, Zuko and Mai have reconciled over an argument they had and Ty Lee feels cleansed. Azula compliments them on their great "acting", treating the entire thing like it was a show.* Kuvira--BigBad of Season 4 of the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''--really should brush up on her history, as she makes the exact same mistake with Zhu Li that Azula made with Mai, instantly trusting the girl and easily believing she would turn on Varrick out of fear of her. She never questioned for a second whether Zhu Li's betrayal of Varrick and pledge of UndyingLoyalty to her was true or not--how could it be otherwise? She's not just upset when she finds out one of her most valuable scientists is a FakeDefector; she's genuinely ''shocked''. No one's ever dared try to double-cross her before! Zhu Li was able to fool her about her true loyalties because Kuvira never even considered that Zhu Li might love Varrick more than she feared her--like her predecessor, she miscalculated.* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'':** In season 1, XANA's flawed understanding of human behavior, including things like courage and friendship, is his major flaw. In one episode, he traps the team in a virtual ''Matrix''-style copy of the school, forcing Jérémie to virtualize himself to warn them. This leads to a SpotTheImposter scene where XANA (disguised as Jérémie) tries to convince the others how Jérémie's story can't be true:--->'''XANA:''' Everyone knows that the real Jérémie wouldn't step foot in the scanner. He'd be much too frightened!\\'''Odd:''' ''[after a pause]'' And I'm sure he ''would'' go into the scanner... if his friends were in danger.\\'''Ulrich:''' No doubt about it.\\'''Yumi:''' Absolutely none.\\'''XANA:''' But it's not logical! Don't you see? He's much too scared to even try... I--''I'm'' much too scared! If not, then why haven't I already done it?\\'''Jérémie:''' I told you why. Because he's not infallible. XANA's knowledge of people is only approximative.\\'''Odd:''' And when it comes to friendship, it's not approximative; it's double zero. Good to see you again, [[AffectionateNickname Einstein]].\\''[Jérémie smiles]''\\'''XANA:''' [[MoodWhiplash No, it's not logical! NOOO!]] ''[[LogicBomb NOT! LOGICAL! NOT! LOGICAL!]]''** However, XANA is an interesting case in that unlike many villains, he actually learns from this defeat; in later seasons, he actually anticipates both Aelita and Franz Hopper making {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s and take advantage on it to pull out {{Batman Gambit}}s.* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything" (based on a story from the comics), Mongul imagines that Superman's greatest desire being shown to him by the [[LotusEaterMachine Black Mercy]] is of him ruling the galaxy. Instead, he's living peacefully on a farm on Krypton, married to a woman who resembles both Lana and Lois, and has a son.--> '''Mongul''': I wonder where he thinks he is? Sitting on a throne, ruling the universe... All you human garbage fawning at his feet. More honest, don't you think, than this pretense of being a "selfless hero"? (''Diana proceeds to bash Mongul's head in'') ** This is actually a change from the original comic, where in addition to the world conquest idea, Mongul wonders if he's dreaming of "whatever blissful backwater he was raised in". He was still wrong, but it's a bit closer to Superman's motivations.* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':** When the Mad Hatter imprisons Batman in a [[LotusEaterMachine fake world]] where his parents were never killed and he's engaged to Selina Kyle, who isn't a criminal. It's practically a paradise. When The Mad Hatter asks him why he chose to escape, he responds with "Because it's not REAL."** Ra's al Ghul doesn't understand why Batman is horrified by [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Ra's plan to bring about Utopia by murdering lots of people]]. Of course, it doesnt help that what Ghul wants isn't actually a Utopia but basically just a society-wide cult revolving around worshipping him, but it wouldnt have mattered if he truly did intend to make a real utopia.** After Harley is let out of Arkham, she is caught up in a misunderstanding, and almost [[ThenLetMeBeEvil throws away her chance to reform]]. Batman tries to defuse the situation while it's still salvagable. Back at Arkham (but with some hope of getting out again), Harley asks Batman why he would put himself at risk for "somebody who's never given you anything but trouble". He explains that he knows everybody has bad days, even him, and it seems to get through. * ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'':** Both subverts and plays this straight with the relationship between [[MagnificentBastard David Xanatos]] and [[DarkActionGirl Fox]]. Though there are signs of their affection as early as Season 2's "Leader of the Pack", Xanatos doesn't initially believe their attraction and compatibility could actually be called love because "two people such as ourselves are [not fully] capable of that emotion."... until "Eye of the Beholder" has him going through [[XanatosSpeedChess plan after plan]] to get the woman he loves back after she has [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity a bad experience with the Eye of Odin.]]--->'''Xanatos:''' So now you know my weakness.\\'''[[WarriorPoet Goliath]]:''' Only you would regard ''[[LoveRedeems love]]'' as a weakness.** Duncan, Demona, and Tony Dracon also play the trope straight; Duncan's and Demona's treacherous natures led them to suspect that the loyal, honest Macbeth was equally treacherous in "City of Stone" Part 3 (in Duncan's case) and Part 4 (in Demona's case), while Dracon suspected the same of Elisa in "Protection."** Oberon doesn't seem to realize how everyone would fight him to keep him from taking away Xanatos and Fox's child. [[spoiler:Given the implication that Titania (who put the idea in Oberon's head to kidnap the baby) did the entire thing to get Fox to tap her fey powers in anger, it's suggested that Titania ''did''.]]** Lampshaded in "Protection", after Elisa nails Tony Dracon by pretending to be crooked. Goliath wonders why Dracon would think ''Elisa'' of all people would turn bad, and Elisa comments that the corrupt find it easy to believe that everyone else can be corrupted.* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':** Played straight in the "Toilet Paper" episode. Cartman is simply incapable of comprehending why the other boys feel guilt about Butters getting busted for what they did, to the point that trying to wrap his brain around it starts [[LogicBomb giving him a headache]]. He later confesses, but only in hopes of either getting lighter punishment, avoiding punishment, and looking good to the adults. Depressingly, because the adults are ignorant of Cartman's mental state the ruse works. ** On the other hand, it shows to the viewer that yes, coming clean sooner is good for you; it's just that this time the wrong person came clean for the wrong reasons. This extends to the point that Cartman actually believes he ''did'' learn a valuable life lesson and tries very awkwardly to deliver AnAesop, much to the exasperation of Kyle.--->'''Cartman:''' I've learnt that while you might not get in trouble first, you can later.\\'''Kyle:''' ''[FacePalm]'' Oh god...\\'''Cartman:''' At first I didn't feel bad but now I feel terrible.\\'''Kyle:''' You just feel bad for yourself because you got put in detention!\\'''Cartman:''' Right, so I guess what I learnt today is...\\'''Kyle:''' Oh stop it, Cartman. You didn't learn anything! Not a Goddamn thing!\\'''Cartman:''' ''[looks thoughtful]'' ...hmmm.** The "Coon and Friends" trilogy demonstrates this with a short dialogue between "The Coon" (Cartman) and [[TheCowl Mysterion]] ([[spoiler:Kenny]]). (And the debate with the Creator/AynRand Foundation begins...).--->'''[[SecretIdentity The Coon]]:''' It's not my fault [[SelfServingMemory you guys turned evil]], [[spoiler:Kenny]].\\'''Mysterion:''' You are the bad guy, Cartman. You!\\'''The Coon:''' I'm making the world a better place!\\'''Mysterion:''' ''FOR YOU!'' You're making it a better place ''for you!''\\'''The Coon:''' ''[{{Beat}}]'' Riiight. That's what superheroes do.** ''Possibly'' subverted in "How to Eat With Your Butt". Cartman loses his ability to laugh after seeing the Thompsons, people with a condition that makes their faces resemble buttocks. The other boys claim this is because he feels genuinely sorry for them because they lost their son, but Cartman insists the sight was so funny he merely "blew a funny fuse". When their son (Creator/BenAffleck) is reunited with them, the sight of them "kissing" him causes him to laugh again. He says it is so hilarious that it fixed him, but again the others tell him it's because he is happy they are back together. The subversion depends on whether or not he really felt sympathy for them (and was merely unable to comprehend ''why''), or he didn't (and couldn't understand why he ''should'').** In "Casa Bonita", Cartman tries to be nice so that Kyle will take him to the title restaurant. Due to this trope, Cartman's attempt to "be nice" was really just him [[InsaneTrollLogic putting on a nice sweater and changing nothing else.]] When Kyle points this out, Cartman has no clue what he means.** In "The Ring", the boys are incensed at how the Jonas Brothers' purity ring pitch have turned Kenny dull and angrily protest. Mickey Mouse, who is portrayed as a sadistic CorruptCorporateExecutive, thinks they are trying to sabotage him on behalf of Dreamworks. * Also played straight in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower''. [[EnemyMine Forced to work together]], She-Ra and Hordak get directions from a local in exchange for some fruit that's trivial for them to get, but impossible for the local to reach. Hordak starts to go the other way from the directions, saying the local had what he wanted, and thus no reason to genuinely help them.-->'''She-Ra:''' Your problem, Hordak, is that you lie all the time, so you assume everyone else does the same, even though you depend on most people keeping their word.* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': This is frequently where [[FlamingDevil Him's]] plans go wrong on ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. Every time he creates a situation to exploit something like their anger or fear, he's shocked at how sisterly love helps them overcome it. ** When Blossom and Buttercup save Bubbles in "Octi-Evil" after he thought he'd broken them up: "But you're supposed to be fighting each other!"** When they overcome [[YourWorstNightmare the fears he tortures them with in "Power-noia"]]: "You're supposed to be afraid!"** When Bubbles thwarts his [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome otherwise awesome]] plan in "All Chalked Up': "You can't do that! [[RuleOfThree You're supposed to express your anger]]!"* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Smurfette meets a very greedy troll who has a hard time understanding why anyone would give something of theirs away; this happens on her birthday, when the other smurfs are giving her gifts (he proceeds to steal them all, and Smurfette herself). After being rescued, Smurfette proves to be a lot more generous (not to mention forgiving) than he is, and he starts to learn his lesson after she shares with him. * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':** As noted by Rob Hoegee in a feature on the Third Season DVD, this trope is Slade's achilles heel. His inability to understand Robin's willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends at the end of the first season or Terra's residual loyalty to the team in the second proved to be his undoing. It's worth noting that when his opponent is Trigon, the literal embodiment of evil, Slade's plan really goes off without a hitch, largely because Trigon acts in exactly the ways he predicts.** Trigon has the exact same weakness. Trigon couldn't understand why, against all odds, with the world literally having ended, the Titans continue to fight him and why Raven, despite him being [[spoiler: her creator]] stands up against him. This is ultimately his downfall as well.* Sometimes done on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':** Mr. Burns' moral compass is so far off kilter that even when he tries do something good, he's [[HeroWithAnFInGood actually more evil than he normally is]]. Lisa even lampshades it:--->'''Lisa:''' You're evil... and when you try to be good, you're even ''more'' evil!** In "Last Exit to Springfield", Mr. Burns cuts the power to the town during a strike, and is shocked that the union doesn't break.** After learning about recycling from Lisa in "The Old Man and the Lisa", Mr. Burns takes it to its extreme by recycling living sea creatures into a multipurpose slurry. He doesn't understand why Lisa is horrified by this, since, as he sees it, he is giving people what they need without wasting a single sea creature.** Happens with Jessica Lovejoy in "Bart's Girlfriend" after she was caught framing Bart Simpson and stealing the church collection plate money. When she saw Bart approach her while doing her punishment of washing the church steps, she assumed Bart was going to laugh at her. He instead confessed how their small relationship taught him not to be naive around girls. Jessica, however, confessed that she learned she could make boys do whatever she wanted and proves it by asking Bart to finish the job while she runs off with another boy. Bart claims he sees through her deception but then says "wait until she sees the second rate job I do on these stairs".* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Part of Vicky's {{Flanderization}}, as shown in "Frenemy Mine", is she cannot understand love, to the point where she cannot comprehend her feelings after Timmy saves her.* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' where He-Man and Skeletor are forced into an EnemyMine situation in order to save Eternia, Skeletor tries in vain to comprehend doing something good for a change. He asks He-Man "Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?" He-Man answers "Don't you ever feel like doing something good?"* This shows up occasionally in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''. For example:-->'''Natasha:''' Boris, how could you let them sail away with [[MacGuffin the mooseberry bush]]?\\'''Boris:''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bush was disguised as old man.]] Did I know they would help old man into lifeboat? I wouldn't!* In ''WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSmash'': The Collector is unable to understand why the Hulks would rather have the real world than the LotusEaterMachine he put them in.* WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer, being an emotionless, violent sociopath, is completely caught off-guard when anyone shows him a form of kindness (such as a man giving him money when he finds out Kevin was a runaway). Kevin's eventual response to these situations is to violently attack the person, or just steal their money. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Allan himself is surprised by this,]] [[CuriosityCausesConversion and mused that the kindness of others could put his faith back in humanity.]]* General Zhal from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' is left completely stunned after [[spoiler:he kills the ComicBook/DoomPatrol and the entire world chants "We are the Doom Patrol", showing that instead of making everyone see them as frauds, they see them as bigger heroes than before. Zhal is unable to even react to being arrested out of shock because he can't understand how a HeroicSacrifice increases people's faith in the sacrificer.]]* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':** The biggest weakness of Discord is his inability to truly understand how strong the bond between the mane cast truly is. He's taken completely off-guard when he discovers that they've reforged their friendship after he seemingly broke it apart [[spoiler:leading to his defeat]]. He also gets ''very'' frustrated when Fluttershy proves too kind and accepting of her own faults to fall for his [[MoreThanMindControl attempt to convince her her friends think she's weak and helpless and thus she should be mad at them.]] This makes sense when one considers he's the [[EvilCounterpart polar opposite]] of the Elements of Harmony, which run on the PowerOfFriendship. It may also be another of the apparent shout-outs to [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Him]], who shared this weakness as well.** In Discord's second appearance, he seems to recognize the idea of friendship by the end of it, [[spoiler: in that doing whatever he wants doesn't actually make him any happier because he actually cared about Fluttershy thought about him.]] However, season 4 makes it pretty clear that Discord ''still'' didn't understand friendship, seeing it as something that made him happy. He did enjoy the company of others, but he still didn't understand camaraderie, and as far as he was concerned, it was [[ItsAllAboutMe all about him]]. This makes him easy prey for Lord Tirek in the season 4 finale, who plays on the same idea that friendship is all about what you get out of it. Discord shows some signs of loyalty to Fluttershy (and Fluttershy alone) but still doesn't understand friendship [[spoiler:until, after Discord betrays his friends, allowing Lord Tirek to steal their magic, Lord Tirek proves himself to be EvilerThanThou and drains Discord's magic as well. Only when Twilight Sparkle frees him despite all the things he did does he really understand friendship, giving Twilight the final key to unlock the chest and the full, unmitigated power of ThePowerOfFriendship.]]** Queen Chrysalis, the BigBad of the second SeasonFinale, also has this problem. She's a sadistic, {{shapeshifting}}, [[HornyDevils succubus-like]] HiveQueen who stole Princess Cadance's identity to feed off the [[ThePowerOfLove love]] her husband to be had for her. In the end, she doesn't once think that this same power could be turned against her. To her, it was just food and she didn't truly understand its true power.** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1"]], during his BreakingSpeech to Discord, Tirek dismisses his brother's befriending ponies so many years ago as a sign of a weak mind. More generally, he considers friendship just another form of imprisonment.** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2"]], Tirek cannot understand friendship, and is confused when Twilight demands Discord's release after he betrayed them. It is this mistake that leads to his defeat and re-imprisonment for eternity.** Starlight Glimmer, the villain from the season five premiere, has an interesting variation on this. It's not that she doesn't understand friendship at all, but she has a seeming inability to even ''consider'' any other idea of how friendship might work besides her own, which states that friendship is impossible if friends have different talents or different opinions, leading to her trying to make everypony "equal". When Twilight tries to explain that differences make friendships better, she dismisses it as "sentimental nonsense". This belief is the main reason why [[spoiler:Fluttershy's FakeDefector move works]], as she believed that the Mane Six's friendship would be easily broken due to their differences.** Queen Chrysalis suffers even worse from this in the season six finale. [[spoiler:Chrysalis believes that love is something that you ''take'', not ''give''. When Thorax gives it freely, he attains a pure and powerful form, and practically every other changeling goes along. Chrysalis still fights back, and she then rejects Starlight's offer of peace, even though she's lost everything.]]* In the Christian-based cartoon ''WesternAnimation/GodRocks'' a robot kept on trying to ruin the God Rocks concert to raise money for a good cause, and he didn't understand that even after he stole their instruments they still desired to play.* In one episode of the ''[[Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse Battletech]]'' animated series, Mechwarrior Ciro forces a jumpship captain at gunpoint to record a message to Adam Steiner, saying that he knows where Adam's missing-in-action brother is, in an effort to lure Adam into a trap. [[BigBad Nicolai Malthus]] asks why Adam would respond to such a message, and Ciro replies that Adam would do anything to help his brother. It's a reaction Malthus finds impossible to understand. This is fully understandable, however, in that Clan Mechwarriors don't ''have'' families, they have sibkin--other Clan Mechwarriors who were created by scientists and incubated in artificial wombs. Though the bond between sibkin is stronger than the average bond between two different members of the same clan, they still view one another as only allies at best, and frequently as rivals competing for status and a limited number of choice assignments. To earn their status as Mechwarriors, they have to begin by emerging victorious in duels--and the losers get crap assignments or even demoted to a lesser caste! While many of them would ''understand'' the idea of complete and blind loyalty to another, few of them would ''feel'' it; and Nicolai is not exactly the most well-adjusted Clanner to begin with.* Roger of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', due to his species practically being MadeOfEvil, is completely unfamiliar with the idea of feeling for anyone over himself. So much that actually feeling guilt over one of his acts was such a trauma to his state of mind, it created a split personality out of it just to cope. Hell, in one episode, when he tried to be nice for a change, it literally almost killed him.* Nightmare from ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' has this as his FatalFlaw. His defeats at Spider-Man's hands are always the result of his crippling inability to understand Spidey's motivations. Being the master of nightmares means nothing if you're unable or unwilling to properly understand how your opponent operates. ** In "Strange Days", Nightmare forces everyone on Earth to be trapped in a permanent dream facing their worst fears. In the end, Spider-Man is the last to be forced to face his deepest fear, by making him face disappointment from his Uncle Ben over his death. Instead, the dream-version of his uncle greets him with a smile. Spidey then talks back at the confused Nightmare, saying he lives with what happened everyday and instead of letting it get to him, he lets it encourage him to be Spider-Man everyday. This in turn is what starts Nightmare's plan to fall apart because it never occurred to him someone has the will to overcome or accept their fears.** In "Nightmare on Christmas", a twisted parody of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' and ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'', Nightmare tries to trick Spider-Man into giving up being a hero by showing him how people never appreciate his heroic acts and showing him a future where he could be as happy and as famous as Tony Stark, firmly believing the unappreciated Spidey would gladly hang up his mask. However, in that future, Spidey's absence allowed the Green Goblin to take over New York, causing Spider-Man to reject his offer, saying he became a hero to do the right thing, not for fame. And at the end of the episode, Nightmare remains baffled that Spider-Man would so freely pass up a chance for a new life. --->'''Nightmare:''' You could have had everything, yet you threw it away for nothing!* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': ** Psimon was under the impression that Miss Martian's [[spoiler: true form]] would cause the rest of the team to reject her, and cost her Superboy's hand.[[spoiler: Instead, the team [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments accepts her with open arms when she reveals her White Martian form. For bonus points, Superboy knew she was a White Martian even before they started dating.]]]]** Also happens to the Light in the same episode. [[spoiler:They never thought that Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy would ''willingly'' reveal their {{Dark Secret}}s to the rest of the team, and that the team would ''fully accept them.'' Because of this, the Light gets OutGambitted.]]* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', Nigel wakes up in a world where he's an adult and president and his teammates are all part of his cabinet. The Alternate Hoagie eventually realizes what's going on and agrees to send him home if he'll sign the bill that would destroy their world's Kids Next Door. Nigel refuses, even when threatened. Hoagie doesn't get why, since he'll never see the kids he's sacrificing again and it won't affect his world.* On ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'', [[BigBad the Night Master]] accurately assesses that the titular trio have a lot of undesirable, un-heroic qualities. However, he scoffs at the idea that they could rise above them and become better people. He also clearly wasn't expecting [[spoiler: Coop to accept Yin's apology and turn on him.]]* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries:'' ''Quite'' a few members of Aladdin's RoguesGallery suffer from this:** From the minute they first meet, Mozenrath is genuinely surprised that Aladdin would choose to help people for its own sake rather than for personal profit. [[SubvertedTrope He's smart enough to quickly learn from that encounter, and every attempt to manipulate Aladdin afterwards went much more smoothly]].** And then there's Mirage. She's firmly convinced that she can ruin Aladdin and Jasmine's relationship by transforming Jasmine into a hideous snake woman and then destroying the only antidote. Aladdin's response is to transform ''himself'' into a hideous snake man in order to be with Jasmine, which was the ''last'' thing Mirage ever expected.* Ragnar of ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' worshipped the Green Lantern of his planet. Believing himself to be worthy of a Green Lantern, he poisoned him and attempted to claim his ring. Instead, his sister, Queen Iolande, became the Green Lantern. His jealousy and feelings of betrayal lead him to become a Red Lantern. It never occurred to him that his murdering a Green Lantern and his desire to abuse the power of one were the very reasons he was rejected.* Two animated incarnations of Dr. Doom have this as their FatalFlaw. ** ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'': Lampshaded and subverted in "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesDoomsWordIsLaw Doom's Word Is Law]]". Doctor Doom at first believes that kidnapping Reed and Susan will make defeating them easier as he believes Ben and Johnny to be too stupid to stop him without their help and is baffled that they are able to power through his defenses through luck and with Bruiser's help. But then he reveals he had a failsafe for Bruiser pulling a HeelFaceTurn. --->'''Reed:''' Don't you understand, Victor? [Ben and Johnny] don't care how great your science is; they just care about rescuing us.\\'''Dr. Doom:''' What are you blathering on about?\\'''Susan:''' You'll never stop them, Doom, because you don't know ''how'' to fight them.** In the ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' episode "Planet Doom", Doom's plan was to go back in time and stop the Avengers from forming by preventing the events that made each of them heroes, firmly believing that they only became heroes due to whatever fateful event that gave them their powers. However, while he rules the BadFuture with an iron fist, it also gave rise to new heroes who formed a team right under his nose with Thor's help. In other words, his inability to understand the fundamentally innate good and heroism within people [[JustForPun doomed]] his plan to failure before it even began.** He further demonstrated this trope when he attempted to control Tony Stark and Bruce Banner by altering their backstories and preventing them from being superheroes, in addition to serving him with their scientific know how. However, their natural good natures resurfaced with a little outside assistance, proving deep down they were still heroes, something that completely blind-sided Doom (as well as ruined his plans).* Bill Cipher from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' didn't believe Mabel [[JerkassRealization would feel remorse after treating Dipper]] like crap throughout the episode, ''Sock Opera''. Which is probably why his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech towards her not only fails, but [[HeelRealization backfires spectacularly]].-->'''Bill Cipher:''' I mean, who would sacrifice everything they've worked for just for their dumb sibling?-->'''Mabel:''' ...''Dipper'' would.** [[spoiler:He's eventually done in by the classic 'can't comprehend a heroic sacrifice' mistake, when he's tricked into entering Stan's mind just before the others erase it with the memory gun. Bill spends quite a bit of time spluttering in confusion over Stan being willing to have his own mind erased, and then futility tries to offer Stan money and power even after Stan's made it clear that his only concern is protecting his family.]]* Plankton from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' often has trouble understanding basic concepts of goodness, such as having fun. In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'', not only does he struggle to understand the concept of teamwork, he can't even ''pronounce'' it properly ("Te-am work? Tie-am? Time bomb... work?"). He also believes that [=SpongeBob=] helping him is really a front for a plot to steal the formula for himself, and is shocked to learn he really doesn't know it.* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', three criminals reveal their plan to use magic to dry up the Ganges River, allowing them to access treasures on the river bed. Jackie is appropriately horrified because millions of people would die of thirst without the river, but they don't understand why he would care. * ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'':** In "Maternal Instincts" Vlad confesses his love for Maddie as well as admitting he hates Jack for "stealing" her. He asks her to dump Jack and be with him. She naturally refuses and spends the rest of the series having a rather sour opinion of him. Despite wanting to be loved, Vlad doesn't understand how it works.** A case of Evil Forgetting How To Comprehend Good, in "The Ultimate Enemy". [[spoiler:Dark Danny mocks his younger self for wanting to prevent the deaths of his loved one, being an evil monster so long has rendered him unable to feel anything other than sadistic pleasure.]]* ''WesternAnimation/ArchiesWeirdMysteries'':** Mega-Mall of Horrors: Mr. Avericci preys on teenage greed, but his plan failed because he didn't expect Jughead's loyalty to the Chocklit Shoppe was too strong.** The Vampire Arc: Medlock fails to understand the concept of friendship when he betrays his most loyal servant, who ends up turning against him.** Little Chocklit Shoppe of Horrors: An example of Logic Cannot Comprehend Emotion. The Stanley 9000 doesn't understand why Pop values personal attention and people's safety over efficiency. This leads to its StartOfDarkness, causing it to believe that humans are inefficient and must be destroyed.* ''WesternAnimation/YogisGang'': After cheating Yogi out of his ark, Peter D. Cheater learns about the gang's treasure map and, believing it to be real, offers to trade the ark back to Yogi for the map. When Yogi tells Peter the map is fake, Peter assumes it's a trick to keep him away from the treasure and makes the trade anyway. [[InvokedTrope Yogi later states that people who cheat a lot end up expecting others to do the same]].* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'':** In the episode, "Mega Muriel the Magnificent", the Computer possesses Muriel's body and performs various dangerous stunts on live TV to show Courage and the world how brave he is compared to organics. When Courage repeatedly tries to stop him, the Computer is baffled by why Courage would constantly risk his life to stop him even though he is scared of everything. The Computer erroneously believes that courage means having no fear when in reality, courage is the ability to overcome one's fear.** In the episode, "Cabaret Courage", Courage and the family are forced to be the entertainment for a creature's Hollywood cabaret, who promises them great prizes if he likes their performances. Muriel and Eustace quickly succumb to their greed and are nearly digested by the creature's stomach acid. But when it's Courage's turn to perform, the creature is stunned when Courage rejects his prizes and demands his family back. He's even more stunned when Courage nearly risks his life to save Eustace and Muriel. The creature had been surrounded by greed and avarice for so long, he never thought he would encounter an individual who was driven by more than their selfish desires. Ultimately, it's when Courage saves the creature himself from having a heart attack does he finally realize there are people who care for others and not just themselves.* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "The Devil to Pay", the heroes were conned by a demon named Dib Devlin into competing in [[DeadlyGame a game show with their souls on the line.]] Dib clearly had no faith in human nature, and set up the final round as a DeathTrap that could be escaped if one of them admitted to doing something bad. He was dead ''wrong'', as they ''all'' thought of something bad they had done and confessed to it. (Although it took Ray--the intended one--the longest to admit it, that he [[spoiler:had eaten a cookie that Slimer had gotten slime all over, but he eventually did, [[EvenEvilHasStandards grossing out even the demonic studio audience]].]])* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Jasper has this problem. She thinks of [[FusionDance fusion]] as strictly a combat maneuver meant to increase a gem's power, when the real way to get the best results is by treating it as the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personification]] of the component gems' relationship with each other, and harnessing ThePowerOfLove between them. She's also unable to realize that Lapis Lazuli would value protecting Steven, her only friend, over revenge against the Crystal Gems. Combine both, and you get the mistake that took her out of action for over a season. [[spoiler: She decided to strong-arm Lapis Lazuli into fusing with her, creating Malachite. Lapis agreed, but instead of going along with Jasper's plans, took control of the fusion and dragged them both down to the bottom of the ocean.]]** In the episode ''Earthlings'', when she's fighting [[spoiler: Steven and Amethyst's fusion, Smoky Quartz]], she still doesn't get that ThePowerOfFriendship is actually the reason she's getting her ass kicked, not the Crystal Gems having access to a special weapon that she doesn't. [[spoiler: Since she sees fusion as simply a weapon, she once more strong-arms the nearest free gem into one. In this case, the closest is a Corrupted Gem. [[ClippedWingAngel The fusion is nowhere near strong enough to face off with Smoky, the corrupted gem breaks and runs at the first chance it gets]], and it infects Jasper with TheCorruption. She then refuses Steven's genuine attempt to heal her, as she thought that it (and his mother Rose Quartz's reaching out to gems marginalized by Homeworld's FantasticCasteSystem) were attempts to manipulate gems into joining her army.]]* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': [[BigBad Emperor Zarkon]] believes that Black Lion will still obey him, [[spoiler: the previous Paladin]], because they value power, dismissing Shiro stating that it's about trust between it and its Paladin. Shiro is immediately proven right, [[spoiler: the Black Lion immediately severs its link with Zarkon, starting his VillainousBreakdown]].* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is MadeOfEvil, and has a dim understanding of the concept of "good" (about the closest he can get is "Free beef jerky for everyone"). He thought that sending Jack to the future would crush his spirit, but Jack ended up being a rallying point for the abused masses of Aku's reign. Additionally, other things that are lost on him are "respect" and "teamwork", as he has ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to the highest degree and has actually screwed himself over time and again because he cannot help but betray his allies in some form or another, even when he's trying really hard not to.* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'', [[spoiler: Lord Domintator doesn't understand why [[SavingTheVillain Wander saves her]] when her ship exploded.]][[/folder]]

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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': Knives, being something of a PsychopathicManchild, doesn't understand why his twin brother Vash would choose to side with the humans over himself, when the humans (in Knives' eyes) are nothing more than parasites who leech the lives of Plants (from whom Knives and Vash were born).* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': ** Giese Hunt assumes that the reason why Johan uses the Crystal Beast cards is because he seeks its ace card, Rainbow Dragon, to sell for profit, which is what Giese seeks it for. Johan angrily retorts that the Crystal Beast cards have a bond with and chose him as their master, and even if he found Rainbow Dragon, he would only treat it as another friend.** Edo Phoenix is the {{designated|Villain}} and [[SlaveToPR self-proclaimed]] AntiHero, so he confuses even ''himself'' when he makes a HeroicSacrifice trying to save [[LoveMartyr Ekou]], [[TheDulcineaEffect someone he just met who should mean nothing to him]].* ''Manga/YuGiOh'': During the [[AmusementParkOfDoom Death-T arc]], when Yugi and his pals are trapped in the Death T-3 room, which involves giant blocks falling and attempting to crush them, Kaiba firmly believes that everyone only cares about themselves most of all and at least one of Yugi's group !![[EvilLaugh Ha ha ha!]] Those pesky Tropers will betray the others to save themselves. Honda/Tristan proves him wrong when he is pinned by the jacket between two blocks, helping Yugi escape and remaining behind.* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'':** If Shin really knew and loved [[MessianicArchetype Yuria]], he '''really''' wouldn't be surprised that [[spoiler:she was DrivenToSuicide by the cruelty and genocide he committed in the name of earning her love.]] It's revealed in a later episode (though in chronological order in ''Yuria Den'') that [[spoiler:he realized she was lost to him, after she survived her fall only to unconsciously call for Ken]].** In the case of Raoh, he's so emotionally stunted by his drive to conquer the world that while he still gets brotherly love (hence one keep all of the anime's most touching scenes), ''romantic'' love flies right over his head. As a result, he mistook his relationships with Reina and Yuria for ambition (Reina as a comrade in his ambition, Yuria as the source/prize of his ambition) instead of could-have-been-love. The sheer ''ignorance'' of Raoh's response, when he's subsequently frightened both by Kenshiro and by Fudou's children, wondering at the source of Kenshiro's power...** After Jackal's gang murdered an old lady that was taking care of a bunch of little children, Kenshiro swore that he would track, find, and kill all of them, and began to do just that. After finding a corpse of examples on one of his comrades, a bandit said he didn't understand why Kenshiro was doing something he gained nothing with.%%* This along with ThePowerOfLove is usually what causes the defeats of the boss villains in the ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' series.* In ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar'', [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord Akudaikahn]] is page, so utterly unable to understand anything but his own thirst for destruction that he has a VillainousBreakdown and goes ''completely insane'' when the HeelFaceTurn-ed [[DarkMagicalGirl Michiru and Kaoru]] reveal to him that, in fact, he ''did'' commit a good deed by giving them life.* In ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'', 004 was faced with a fully robot duplicate of himself which was not only stronger and faster, but could perfectly predict his actions. Until their battle knocked a bird's nest loose from a tree; the mere act of 004 diving to catch it was so unexpected to the robot that it was effectively a LogicBomb and caused the robot to malfunction and shut down.* The ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' {{OVA}} had Bishamon suffer this when Donovan put himself at risk to save human bystanders during their fight.* Naraku, from ''Manga/InuYasha'', privately expresses some confusion when [[ActionGirl Sango]] ''simply will not kill'' her little brother Kohaku, no matter ''what'' he [[BrainwashedAndCrazy makes him do]]. While he was played for this trope for most of the series, another particularly [[KickTheDog despicable]] instance being when he claims the way the protagonists would just show mercy to a loyal underling whom he just sent on a suicide mission to take them out makes ''him'' sick, he is ultimately revealed to be an interesting subversion when Kagome points out that he is part human and couldn't possibly carried out his ManipulativeBastard antics if he didn't understand the meaning of human bonds, which, on the one hand, manages to make him a great deal ''more'' terrifying as a villain than he would be if he simply didn't get goodness, since it means that he always knew ''exactly'' what his actions would do to the protagonists, but on the other hand revealed that his motivations had to go [[LoveMakesYouEvil beyond mere lust for power.]] It is interesting that he was never really aware that the vestiges of humanity he tried so hard to get rid of were, in fact, as much of an asset to him as they were to the protagonist.* Played [[TearJerker for tragedy]] in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' when [[spoiler: CreepyChild Gretel is so confused by Rock showing her genuine kindness and [[HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim crying for her]] that she [[DoesNotKnowHowToSayThanks sexually proposes to Rock as thanks]].]]* Similarly to the example from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', in the manga version of ''Literature/BattleRoyale'', [[TheVamp Mitsuko Souma]] is captured by Tadakatsu, a baseball player, and Yuichiro, an otaku. While Tadakatsu is wary of her, Yuichiro is more sympathetic and makes the effort to talk to her. Having been abused and exploited by men for most of her life, Mitsuko assumes that Yuichiro's just trying to get into her knickers when he offers to untie her hands. However, she's surprised to discover that he's just going to give her a drink and has no ulterior motives, and is even more surprised when he [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet from Tadakatsu to protect her]]. * In ''Manga/DeathNote'':** Mello had kidnapped and traumatized Sayu. Soichiro, Sayu and Light's father, had managed to get the Shinigami Eyes and got back the notebook. Light was expecting his father to write out Mello's name as soon as he saw his face but Soichiro simply threatened Mello, preferring to arrest him. Light couldn't understand why Soichiro would do that.** Used again with Mello and Light later on, after Mello kidnaps Takada. [[spoiler: Mello is killed in ensuing events. Light, whose first loyalty is to his own survival, cannot conceive that someone like Mello would sacrifice himself for any reason and [[ThanatosGambit walks right into the trap convinced that Mello was just an idiot]]. Although not exactly hero and villain, this is clearly a case of selfishness cannot comprehend loyalty. It's worth noting that with other characters that are more clearly good guys, Light tends to have better success predicting their behavior--Near is an example--but, perhaps because Mello demonstrates a kindred disregard for human life early on, Light simply assumes that the other is driven by greed rather than revenge.]]* The Antispiral's speech to Nia in the final episode of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' would indicate that it doesn't understand why humanity continues to fight against the impossible odds it faces: "Your actions are baffling, Irregular. Why do you resist us so?" After it asserts that it could permanently suppress humanity if it knew what the source of their determination was, Nia then {{lampshade|Hanging}}s the trope, stating that the Anti-Spiral cannot possibly understand and that it should stop trying. Unfazed, the Anti-Spiral states that it doesn't ''need'' to understand, it just needs to ''know''.* MagnificentBastard Yokoya from ''Manga/LiarGame'' scoffs and mocks Nao's ideal of saving everyone in the game, including himself.* In ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'', Kanryu Takeda does not understand why the heroes are trying to rescue Megumi even though there is no reward waiting for them. He is even more bewildered that they refuse to take his bribes.** A more tragic example with [[TheDragon Seta Soujiro]], though it's more a case of willful denial--he was only able to deal with killing by completely entrenching himself in [[SocialDarwinist Shishio's philosophy]]. The mere ''idea'' of Kenshin's opposing philosophy to protect the weak enrages him, eventually driving him into a [[VillainousBreakdown full-on breakdown.]]* ''Manga/BlackCat'': Creed is the living embodiment of this, although it verges on "Insanity Cannot Comprehend Sanity" at times. Literally every problem in series was triggered by Creed's inability to process, or even understand, ordinary human feelings. Creed honestly can't understand why his murder of Saya would prevent Train from wanting to join him. Similarly, it leaves him unable to understand why his Bad Boss tendencies will lead to poor morale among his subordinates. Creed seems to see people as existing apart from one another and, as such, social cause and effect has almost no meaning for him, which only fuels his issues.* In ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Jose doesn't understand why Crow would lose on purpose just to give Yusei a fighting chance in their tag-team duel.* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':** As a part of his VillainDecay down to SmugSnake, Sosuke Aizen gets hit with this by the end of his character arc. When Ichigo first confronts him, Aizen attempts to mess with his head by claiming Ichigo has no reason to hate him and is only fighting out of duty even though he and Ichigo both know Aizen will murder everyone Ichigo knows and loves if he's not stopped. Later on, when Ichigo reappears, clearly looking like he TookALevelInBadass, Aizen assumes the new form is no threat at all because Ichigo changed in a way he hadn't predicted. It hits Aizen much harder in relation to Urahara, however; Aizen appears to be genuinely bewildered and outraged that Urahara, the only man he considers his intellectual equal, is not only content to sit idle rather than try easier to control the afterlife, but also opposed to Aizen's attempts to do so.** Ulquiorra is a much straighter example. He outright states that he doesn't understand why Ichigo fights him, even though he's hopelessly outclassed.** Yhwach unbalances Ichigo by revealing [[LukeIAmYourFather he is Ichigo's ancestor]]. Later, the Quincy blood Ichigo inherited from him causes Ichigo to instinctively attack the Soul King. Yhwach says it doesn't make sense that Ichigo still wants to oppose him.* [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Gaara]] from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', back when he was an AxCrazy SerialKiller who honestly though his purpose in life was to kill people. When Guy stopped him from killing a beaten and defenceless Lee, he had no idea why Guy protected someone who "failed". We actually saw his world-view (represented by images of his childhood) shattering. Nor did he understand how Naruto could keep pushing himself so hard in their final fight, hard enough that even when both of them were utterly exhausted, Gaara was flat on his back but Naruto was ''crawling on his chest'' to fight him, because that was the only way to save Sakura and his friends. He only quit when Sasuke showed up and told him Sakura was safe. Naruto got Gaara just fine, though; he knew exactly what Gaara had been through and explained to him that it was finding friends like them that saved him from the dark, angry place Gaara was in himself. Worth noting is that Gaara [[HeelFaceTurn takes this to heart]] and while he never ''quite'' loses the creepy vibe he gives off, [[DarkIsNotEvil he proves to be just as loyal to his friends and family as Naruto himself.]]** As Sasuke falls deeper into darkness, he admits a couple times that he has no clue why his old teammates are still going to such lengths to get him back on their side. Whether it's out of his obsession-born apathy or a low opinion of himself depends on which point in the story we're talking about.* In ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'':** This is the reason that [[BigBad Dark Star]] merges with his mortal enemy [[BigGood Vorfeed]] to become an entity to destroy all universes and then rebuild them into a world where the two of them would not need to fight each other anymore.** In the manga, Knight of the Aqua Lord, the BigBad of that season took the power of a god and went insane.* Tao En[=/=]Yuan in ''Manga/ShamanKing'', who refuses to believe that you can trust anyone due to the way his ancestors were persecuted for their shaman powers. This is crucial to his defeat--he's more powerful than any of the main characters at that point, but watching ThePowerOfFriendship trump self-preservation destroys his focus.* Over the years Franchise/{{Gundam}} has shown a few examples of this:** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', Gihren doesn't seem to understand why his sister Kycilia would be upset that [[spoiler:he killed their father. He assumes she's joking when she pulls a gun on him and his final expression is one of pure shock, as he never predicted that she would kill him to avenge their father.]]** The undeniable Queen of Evil in all ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' Universes, Katejina Loos from ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam'', ''literally'' got sick since she couldn't comprehend Shakti's thoughts of ending the battle and preserving life.** Haman Khan from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' descended into cynicism and nihilism well before the series began, which is why she can't understand why Judau refuses to join her. She tries several separate approaches to manipulate and seduce him to her side, but all fail.** Ultimately, Char Aznable at the end of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'' shows that he can't understand why Amuro keeps fighting to preserve Earth and the Federation noting that even the best of them has the potential to destroy everyone anyway. Amuro agrees that HumansAreFlawed, but that humans also have the potential to ''save'' people too, and his hope in people is what ultimately wins out in the end--his determination to save the people of Earth is so powerful that it reverses the effects of Earth's gravity outright on the remains of Axis.* This happens to the homunculus Envy in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He (well, Envy's genderless) gets baffled and frustrated by how so many former enemies are setting aside their differences and teaming up to defeat Father's forces. He unsuccessfully tries to remind them of how much they should hate each other. When Envy realizes that [[spoiler:he envied humans' kindness and decency all along]], he [[spoiler:takes his own life out of humiliation.]]** It also happens, to a lesser extent, to Wrath and his minions a bit later. They correctly guessed that they could use LoveIsAWeakness against [[spoiler:Roy Mustang, by slashing the throat of his beloved aide Riza Hawkeye and using her life as motivation for him to perform the forbidden human transmutation, which they needed in order to turn him into one of their sacrifices. What they didn't bank on was Riza fighting death long enough to urge him to refuse, and on the arrival of TheCavalry to help save her.]] Wrath even comments on it after the fact, saying that he ''really hates it'' when humans behave in a way he doesn't expect.* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':** In the Diamond and Pearl arc this is the reason why [[JerkAss Paul]] could not raise Chimchar to his full potential; as he thought making friends with his Pokémon was a waste of time. This came back to bite him in the ass when Ash raised said Chimchar into an Infernape and beat him in the Pokémon league.** An earlier example was with Damien in the early Kanto saga. Even though he treated his Charmander like crap and [[MoralEventHorizon left it to die in the rain]], he still expected it to wait for him to come get it and welcome him back with open arms. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Cue Charmander defecting to Ash]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments and roasting Damien.]]** In Best Wishes 2 Episode N's GrandFinale, Colress and Ghetsis are astonished at the fact that Ash's Pikachu and Reshiram freed themselves from the Pokémon Control Machine under their own power, and don't understand how they could. They are so awestruck at how their plans failed that it sends them both into a VillainousBreakdown.* Serves as a pivotal point in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica''. [[spoiler:Kyuubey can't understand why there's such an emotional impact of losing one person [[AMillionIsAStatistic when there are seven billion people]]. Although Kyuubey isn't evil per se, he just has a goal that the main cast disagrees with when they learn the truth.]]* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': ** [[TheRival Natsu Tanimoto]] came across as this after he was first revealed to be Hermit, the Fifth Fist of Ragnarok; he refused to believe that Kenichi's sense of right and justice was anything more than a facade. This was eventually [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by his FreudianExcuse (his adopted father was killed by his wife who pretended to love him just to get close to him for his money, and later Natsu himself was betrayed by an associate of the senior Tanimoto who pretended to be trustworthy just for the chance to off Natsu and get his fortune for himself), but after he realized that Kenichi really did believe in his own ideals, he pulled a sort-of HeelFaceTurn and is currently a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.** Played straighter with Silcardo Junazard, the "Demon Fist" of YAMI's One Shadow Nine Fists, much later on. [[spoiler:He was bewildered that the kidnapped Miu, [[BrainwashedAndCrazy even in a state of brainwashed bloodlust that he'd previously implanted in her]], tried to treat his fatal wound instead of pulling a sneak attack on Akira Hongo, the man who inflicted said wound, as Junazard had expected her to do.]]* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'':** When Tsukune, about to be executed, asks that he spare the other members of the Newspaper Club, Kuyou is genuinely surprised that he would make such a selfless request despite facing execution. In general, Kuyou openly derides the very idea of human/monster co-existence as ridiculous at best and sickening at worst.** Kiria is completely taken aback when Kurumu chooses to save Moka's life despite the two being rivals for Tsukune's love, as he genuinely believed that Kurumu would just let Moka die; as Kurumu points out to him, just because she's competing with Moka for Tsukune does ''not'' mean that she hates Moka or wants her dead.* [[AlphaBitch Minerva]] of ''Manga/FairyTail'' is so dangerous partially because of how she inverts this. She fully recognizes how some fighters become more dangerous when motivated by ThePowerOfFriendship, and plans to use it to devastating effect with Sting in the Grand Magic Tournament.** When Byro tries to kill Coco for treason, Lucy steps in to defend her. Byro asks why she would care about her, especially since Coco was from the enemy's side. Lucy replies, "I have to care about her, because you don't."** [[FourEyesZeroSoul Invel]] chains [[AnIcePerson Gray]] and [[StalkerWithACrush Juvia]] together and forces them to fight to the death. He does not anticipate the two [[spoiler: ''killing themselves'' so they won't harm the other. Juvia on the other hand did plan for this and created a spell that would save Gray by transferring her blood into him (from her POV it's a win-win: her beloved is safe and she gets to "live on" inside him). Fortunately for Juvia Wendy arrives just in time to heal her]].* Being a deconstruction of the FightingSeries PlayedForLaughs, ''Manga/MutekiKanbanMusume'' deconstructs this rope with Megumi: given her self-hatred, she considers herself as a CardCarryingVillain, but she is only a SchoolYardBullyAllGrownUp who cannot understand why she has to help anyone or why anyone would want to be her friend… because her definition of friend is ''Someone who I can manipulate to defeat TheRival Miki''. She cannot understand why Kayahara Sensei would want to be her friend, nor that IdiotHero Kankuro would want to help her in her quest.* ''Manga/SoulEater'': Spoiler example: [[spoiler: In the anime, [[TheBigBad Asura]] is defeated because he can't understand why Maka keeps fighting despite being clearly outmatched. His inability to understand the concept of bravery and dedication confuses him, allowing Maka to land a fatal blow.]]** Stein has a relevant line when witch Medusa confesses her love for him:--->'''Medusa:''' I love you, you know. A man after my own heart.\\'''Stein:''' Don't be stupid. [[NotSoDifferent At your core, Medusa, you're - just like me.]] You couldn't possibly understand a concept like love.* ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'': This is one of King's flaws as mentioned in chapter 172.* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': ** Shizuri Mugino gets attacked by an unnamed assailant who uses a ShapeShifterGuiltTrip against her. He says LoveIsAWeakness and that her love for [[spoiler:Shiage Hamazura]] and her guilt over killing [[spoiler:Frenda Seivelun]] will weaken her enough for him to crush her. Instead, she massacres him. The assailant is shocked and asks how. Mugino says ThePowerOfLove has made her stronger than ever before, and the assailant is baffled.** Leivinia Birdway can easily enter the mindset of politicians and master schemers like Creator/AleisterCrowley to predict their actions and motivations. However, [[TheHero Touma Kamijou's]] [[ChronicHeroSyndrome drive to help and protect others]] without expecting any reward or having any ulterior motives makes absolutely no sense to her. She eventually concludes that he is insane.* A lot of Eclipse infectees really irked with Thoma's merciful behavior in ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce''.* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Sugou Nobuyuki, the BigBad of the Fairy Dance arc, thinks that Kirito will be too afraid to enter ALfheim Online to attempt a rescue of his kidnapped wife and and gloats about this to said wife in order to demoralize her. Not only is Kirito more than strong enough to dive headfirst into the game on the off chance he can save Asuna, she is well aware of that, and hearing that Kirito knows she's in danger is enough to keep her going for a little while longer. She herself lampshades this, saying that if Sugou had any understanding of love, he would he have lied and said Kirito was dead. * Kam from the ''Videogame/{{Medabots}}'' anime refuses to recognise Medabots as sentient A.I.s, preferring to see them as machines for combat, and, by extension, fails to grasp that [[LimitBreak the Medaforce]] draws power from [[ThePowerOfFriendship the bond that a Medabot forms with its owner]].* ''Rain'': When [[BigBad Reygul]] asks [[TheHero Rain]] why he fights, Rain says it's to protect the people he wants to protect. Reygul explicitly says he cannot comprehend that; specifically, he can't understand why someone as powerful as Rain doesn't have [[AmbitionIsEvil more ambitious goals]]. [[spoiler:Made more ironic when Reygul's brother chastises him for abandoning his duties as the guardian of their homeland in favor of world conquest. Reygul is ''supposed'' to be doing what Rain is doing.]]* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'': This trope is why Esdeath is unable to make Tatsumi love her. Tatsumi tries to convince her to join the revolution because he doesn't like innocent people dying needlessly in war, but she rebukes this. She doesn't understand why this upsets him due to her own SocialDarwinist beliefs, saying that the weak deserve to die and the strong are the ones who survive. Needless to say, Tatsumi makes it clear he will never love a woman who enjoys killing and would even start a new war to continue.* ''Manga/OnePiece'':** In Luffy's backstory, the nobility of Goa Kingdom concoct a plan to impress the Celestial Dragons, the highest ''world'' nobility, by removing all the trash piled just outside the city walls and cleaning the place up. They plan to do this by setting the trash on fire, with no regard whatsoever for the hundreds of poor and impoverished who make that area their home. Upon discovering this, a noble boy, Sabo, is shocked and horrified. This is made worse when he realizes that not only did the majority of his fellow nobles ''know'' what is happening, but they do not see why he would be so horrified by it.** The Vinsmoke family, [[spoiler:Sanji's father and siblings]], are the rulers of the organization and mobile nation Germa 66. They view their status as their birthright and anybody below them exists to serve them to the point of expecting their soldiers to serve as willing human shields at their command. This leaves them perplexed when the WhiteSheep of their family is a man who would gladly cook for commoners or even animals and treats their servants like human beings (i.e not beating the shit of innocent women because she made some food they didn't like). Yet even Reiju, the eldest child and the only one among them who shows anything like empathy or concern that isn't MoralMyopia, is confused at her brother's loyalty to the [[ParentalSubstitute father figure]] who showed him genuine compassion.* An example where "Evil Misinterprets The Concept Of Good" occurs in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', where Puppetmon is a PsychopathicManchild who thinks having friends means having living toys. That friends [[BadBoss can be thrown out or killed]] [[YouHaveFailedMe whenever they fail you]], [[ItAmusedMe for fun]], [[OffingTheMouth annoy you]], or [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness simply lose interest in them]]. Before he was killed by [=MetalGarurumon=], Matt, who's the holder of [[PowerOfFriendship the Crest of Friendship]] [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tells him point-blank that]] Puppetmon doesn't understand what having friends means.* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':** During the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament of the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', no member of the Crane School gets why Jackie Chun, AKA a disguised Master Roshi, suddenly throws the tournament match with Tien. While the Crane Hermit attributes it to fear of a superior opponent, Tien at least understands there's more to it, and it's his desperate attempt to understand why Roshi did it that ultimately sparks his HeelFaceTurn.** Vegeta showed two examples of this during the Android Saga: Following the near-fatal capsule explosion, Vegeta couldn't fathom why Bulma had chosen to stay by his side while he was recovering. Later, just before his battle with #18, he scoffed at the thought of the other Z Fighters coming to his aid, even asking why they'd ''want'' to help him. ** When Gohan [[TakingTheBullet takes the attack]] that Cell meant for Vegeta, Cell openly wonders ''why'' Gohan would do so.-->'''Cell''': Why would Gohan sacrifice himself to save Vegeta? Hm...I will never understand the ways of these Saiyans.** Zamasu of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' is firmly convinced that all mortal life is AlwaysChaoticEvil and [[FinalSolution must be eradicated]] for the good of the universe. While he ''does'' [[JerkassHasAPoint make several good points]] about how [[TheGodsMustBeLazy the gods' no-intervention policy allows evil mortals to get away with all manner of atrocities]], Zamasu's FatalFlaw is that he's [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity incapable of understanding]] that while the mortals ''are'' flawed, they can still learn and grow from their mistakes, and [[GodIsFlawed that the gods themselves can be just as fallible]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ComicBook/LexLuthor is DC's poster child for this:** In one of the earliest stories told with the CorruptCorporateExecutive version of Luthor (in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' vol. 2 #2, 1987), he notices that Clark Kent has some kind of connection with Superman and sets up a research project to find out the nature of the connection. When the researcher concludes that Clark Kent ''is'' Superman, Luthor fires her and scraps the project... because, to Luthor, it's impossible to believe that someone with that much power would want to "waste" time occupying such a humble persona.** As a general theme, Luthor understands that the CONCEPT of good exists, but doesnt really understand its basics, and seems to mostly confuse it with a mix of dominance and dependency. *** It comes around full circle in ''Action Comics'' vol. 1 #900. After achieving godhood, Luthor starts torturing Superman, thinking that he only pretends to have human emotions. When Superman provokes Luthor to delve deeper and watches [[spoiler:Jonathan Kent's death]], Luthor puts two and two together and promptly [[VillainousBreakdown flips his shit]] because ''the alien'' got to have loving parents and ''he'' didn't.** Another early Byrne story had Superman stopping a disgruntled employee from killing Lex with a bomb. Lex assumes Superman set this up to rattle him as it makes no sense for Superman to save someone he knows hates him.** In the original [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] "Death of Superman" story (''Superman vol 1 #149''), Luthor sits smugly through the Kandorians' trial, confident that he can bribe his way out. When asked for his plea, he answers that he is guilty. However, if they let him go, he will work out a way to restore them to full size. Luthor is taken aback when the judge retorts that "we of Kandor do not make deals with murderers" and orders him sent to the PhantomZone for all eternity.** In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', when Luthor gains Superman's powers, when looking through Superman's eyes and how the universe is interconnected, he realizes ''why'' Superman was so benevolent. So much so that [[HeelFaceTurn he completely atones and accepts his death sentence]].** In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} origin for Luthor, Lex's first response to Comicbook/{{Superboy}} accidentally rendering him bald when the superhero put out a lab fire was to create grandiose public works projects around Smallville to steal Superboy's thunder as the local hero. However, Lex can't get it through his head that Superboy does not mind in the least; he's simply glad that if his former friend is carrying out them as part of a vendetta, at least he is doing it constructively. Of course, each project goes dangerously out of control, forcing Superboy to intervene to avert disaster and Luthor can only rationalize that Superboy did that to humiliate him.* At the end of "Superman's Phantom Pal", Superman explains to the villainous inhabitants of the Phantom Zone that ComicBook/JimmyOlsen didn't give in to the temptation to spy on his SecretIdentity because of the boy's "loyalty and honor." He then finishes up his speech by mentioning this trope.* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}:** The eponymous heroine hated Cat Grant because Cat published news articles slandering her. Still she rescued Cat when villain Dollmaker kidnapped her. Dollmaker couldn't understand why Supergirl would want to save someone she hated.** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInTheEightGrade'', [[EvilTwin Belinda]] thinks that Supergirl is an Attention Whore because Belinda is one.--->'''Belinda:''' You think you're so important! You think you're the center of the universe!\\'''Supergirl:''' Uh... Not really.\\'''Belinda:''' You totally do! I'm you and I know what you think! You act all sweet and nice, but inside your head, you're an arrogant little angel prancing through the sky on a stupid magical fantasy horse, acting like you're better than everyone!* Franchise/XMen:** Numerous times, Magneto openly asks the X-Men why they waste their time fighting for a world that hates and fears them so much, assuming they make natural allies. When he eventually joins the team, Magneto realized how much of his past hate and experience has warped him.*** In an Avengers/X-Men crossover, Magneto develops a helmet to alter human minds, thinking it's a great way to unite the world. Captain America tells him this is wrong and Magneto uses the helmet to remove any anti-mutant feeling from Cap's mind, assuming this will sway him. When Cap says he still feels the same, a stunned Magneto confesses he always assumed every human had a hate of mutants in them. The realization that Cap truly feels this way rocks him enough to destroy the helmet and surrender himself.** It's clear many of the anti-mutant bigots who push the idea of "mutants want to destroy us" are unable to accept that A) not all mutants are alike and B) that people with power would want to live a normal life and not use that power to oppress others.** Stryfe sets up a trap for Cyclops and Jean Grey where they find a child (really a robot) tied to a computer system and tells them that killing the child will kill Stryfe. At the time Stryfe believed he was the child Cyclops once abandoned and thus totally believes they'll do it. He's literally shocked speechless when instead the duo fight the massive number of robots Stryfe sends after him and the caption boxes note how his entire worldview is being shattered. * Used when ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' enemy [[ComicBook/{{Ultron}} Ultron-6]] rebuilt himself with indestructible [[{{Unobtainium}} Adamantium]], making him invulnerable to anything the Avengers could throw at him, including [[PhysicalGod Thor]]. Ultimately, Hank Pym stops Ultron via LogicBomb by impersonating Ultron's MindProbe target after undergoing hypnosis to fill his mind with a simple phrase which Ultron's robotic KillAllHumans mindset couldn't understand: ThouShaltNotKill.* In ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', Dr. Finitevus turned Knuckles into an insane and ultrapowerful villain and, as a security feature, made sure that the change couldn't be reversed without someone [[HeroicSacrifice dying for it]]. That should do it, right? When he explained this, there was silence... for about a second, at which point everyone present started volunteering. Then the next time Finitevus ran into Knuckles, he honestly seemed surprised when Knuckles refused his [[WeCanRuleTogether offer of alliance]]; it didn't seem to occur to the "good" doctor that Knuckles would hold a grudge over the brainwashing and the death of his father (who performed the above mentioned HeroicSacrifice).* A key reason the Mad Thinker is constantly defeated is because, despite all his genius and amazing ability to predict things in advance, he still fails to calculate how people will react differently than he expects them to in non-selfish ways. He even lampshades it at times with how things like empathy and self-sacrifice create a "margin of error" in his plans.* The Wizard, long-time foe of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, had this as his motive in his first appearance. He'd missed the early years of the team as he was in isolation, learning black magic, and when he returned to civilization, the Wizard could not believe that smart people with superpowers would use them for altruistic purposes. Therefore, the JSA had to be pulling the biggest scam ever, and the Wizard demanded to be cut in.* At one point when the [[MirrorUniverse Crime Syndicate of Amerika]] infiltrate the universe of the ComicBook/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, [[EvilCounterpart Johnny Quick and Power Ring]] change costumes and pose as their heroic versions (ComicBook/TheFlash and ComicBook/GreenLantern respectively). Almost losing a fight to supervillains, they are absolutely bewildered when civilians rush in with clubs to help them. When asked why they did this, the civilians said that they owed them for all the times the League's helped them. This prompts Power Ring to complain:-->'''Power Ring:''' [[HypocriticalHumor This is one messed up universe.]]** The New 52 version of the Crime Syndicate, introduced in ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil'', is also perplexed by the idea of justice. But unlike the original take, where those who were heroes here are villains in Earth-3 and vice versa, Earth 3 (without the hyphen) is an entire world (or should we say ''universe'') where heroism, justice, and the basic good are considered foreign concepts. This Earth 3 mainly runs on [[MightMakesRight survival of the fittest]], where the weak are considered useless, and thus, don't put it in their minds to help the innocents. Even those who, nominally, ''should'' be the heroes, are [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]] ''at best''.* Some demons trap {{Traci 13}} in a LotusEaterMachine where she is the uncontested ruler of the world and her father is dead. They are baffled when she rejects the illusion and wants her father back. She thought her father was annoying with his uptight refusal to believe in magic, so the demons assumed she would be happy with him gone.* In the Creator/{{DC|Comics}} [[CrisisCrossover crossover event]] ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'', this ends up costing [[BigBad Neron]] badly when he reveals that his stream of [[DealWithTheDevil deals with various DC villains and heroes]] was done solely to get [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] to cut a deal with him. Unfortunately, Neron thought that the Big Red Cheese would ask for something selfish. Instead, Cap asked for something completely selfless ("Let everyone else go and I'm yours."), which meant that when Neron tried to take Cap's soul, [[GoodHurtsEvil it burned him so badly that he fled]]. Neron gets similarly burned when he buys the love between TheFlash and Linda Park. It causes him to start developing feelings for the souls in his possession, and he doesn't understand why. He ends up giving it up in disgust.* During the John Rogers run of ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'', Eclipso hits Jaime with a spell that will bring out his "deepest desires", which it believes will be some sort of dark, violent power fantasy. What Eclipso gets instead is... a dentist, as what Jaime ''really'' wants is a career that will make enough money to provide for his family.* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}} Incorruptible]]'', this is at least part of the reason that Max Damage is having trouble performing a HeelFaceTurn, though he honestly wants to be TheAtoner.** For that matter, The Plutonian himself doesn't actually understand good and never did. The reason he was TheCape for so long was because of a deep pathological need for mindless adoration brought on by his shitty childhood. He was never actually interested in justice or being good, he just mimicked these actions to get the approval he craved.* Franchise/{{Batman}}:** [[PsychoPsychologist Hugo Strange]] thinks Batman is TheUbermensch and wants to ''be'' him. Unfortunately, Strange doesn't actually understand Batman's underlying motivation, and misunderstands it as a drive for power. He just ends up projecting his own thirst for power on the identity of Batman and makes himself try to usurp it.** In Comicbook/TheKillingJoke, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker just can never understand that [[IronWoobie a young Bruce Wayne]] was not amused and [[{{Determinator}} wrote his own material]] as a [[RageAgainstTheHeavens comeback]].--->'''Joker:''' It's all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for... it's all a monstrous, demented gag! So why can't you see the funny side? ''[Joker stops smiling]'' ''Why aren't you laughing?''\\'''Batman:''' ''[bursts in through a wall]'' Because [[DarkAndTroubledPast I've heard it before]]... and it wasn't funny the ''[[DeathByOriginStory first]]'' time.** Poison Ivy presents one lighter case at ''"Batman and Robin Adventures"'' #24, ''Touch of death''. This issue shows [[{{Hypocrite}} how disconnected Poison Ivy is from her true motivations]] to save a Brazilian boy who is a PoisonousPerson from a GovernmentConspiracy and brings him back to his home. ''She acts on [[PetTheDog pity]], but she cannot understand it.''--->'''Poison Ivy:''' And with the kid, I could... ''[{{beat}}]'' ...[[DidntThinkThisThrough poison people]] ''[[CompletelyMissingThePoint faster?]]'' ...what was I thinking? ** In ComicBook/BatmanEternal, Jason Bard lost his lover/partner in Detroit because a Batman wannabe ruined a drug bust. Bard thus assumes that, like the copycat, Batman is just in it for the fame and glory and hates him. Bard also assumes all the other cops in Gotham hate these masked vigilantes as much as he does and will be happy to get rid of Batman. It takes every cop literally walking out on him for Bard to realize how they trust and admire a man fighting crime and Bard is in the wrong. ** The Riddler isn't as bad as most of Batmans Rogue's Gallery, but his deep-seated need to be recognized as the most intelligent is the only drive he understands. Despite being the villain with the most social competence AND most attempts at reforming, he just can't bring himself to form normal human bonds that aren't decided by intellectual dominance.** This is a recurring motif in some Batman books; because most of Batman's villains are insane and because he's a very mysterious figure to most of them, whenever they attempt to deduct his motives or identity they'll often project their own issues and flaws onto him. Whenever any of them discuss Bats, it quickly becomes clear they're talking about themselves. * In volume 2 of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', Emp saves a thug's life by warning him about his impending brain aneurysm and getting him to the hospital in time for an operation. However, on her way out, a pair of nurses drag her into a closet and drug her, complaining that she's ruined the evil scheme they're running from the hospital. The two of them are convinced that Emp's presence means the Superhomies are onto them, since there's no way a superhero would care about the life of a common thug. However, in this case, it's less because they can't understand kindness, and more because most superheroes in this series are ''assholes''.* In ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'', Darth Krayt's attempts to convert Cade Skywalker into a Sith fail because Cade doesn't want the power Krayt is offering him. Keep in mind that at this point Cade is still rejecting the Jedi calling--he just doesn't want power. The idea that someone might not want power is something utterly alien to the Sith, who all more or less became Sith because they wanted power.* In ''Comicbook/JasonVsLeatherface'', it is stated that [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] has been pushing on for years with his feelings of hate and anger. When he finds himself sympathizing with [[Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre Leatherface]], he is utterly confused.* In ''SupermanBrainiac'', Brainiac has stolen the city of Metropolis for his collection and is [[PunyEarthlings deriding Earth's perceived flaws]] to the captive Superman; it has none of Krypton's science, its weapons are primitive. He concludes that the entire culture is useless and asks Superman what they could possibly offer him. The whole time he's talking, Lois Lane, thinking the end is nigh, is desperately crying out to Superman from the shrunken Metropolis, [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove trying to tell him she loves him before it's too late.]] The implication is that if Brainiac had listened to her, he would have the answer to his question.* Both averted and played straight in Grant Morrison's "JLA: Earth 2" graphic novel. In an alternate universe where evil always wins and good always fails, the Justice League realize that the only way to defeat Brainiac is by walking away in the middle of the crisis. Played straight in the way Brainiac really didn't expect them to do it, and is punished harshly when the 'evil' Justice League return home.* The Evronians from ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' have a similar characteristic: in spite of being {{Emotion Eater}}s, the vast majority of them don't actually understand the power of emotions outside of food for themselves, nor have a large emotional ability to feel them. This proves to be the undoing of more than a few of them, who either don't anticipate someone else's reaction to their otherwise good plans or lack the emotional self-control necessary for some thing... And makes the few who ''can'' that more dangerous, as they come as a genuine surprise. Or, in one even more surprising case, [[spoiler: a genuinely good person]].* In ''Bitch Planet,'' overweight and sardonic Penelope is being "tested" by the ruthless prison wardens by being forced to look into a mirror that shows her what her true ideal self is. The wardens believe this will "help" Penelope by showing her as what they think is the ideal woman (thin, beautiful and sedate). Resistant at first, Penelope looks into the mirror...and it's her own reflection. The wardens are baffled, convinced the device must be malfunctioning, unable to understand why an overweight and unattractive woman would be happy with that appearance. * Comicbook/RedSkull doesn't get what motivates the good, obviously. But even [[EvenEvilHasStandards other bad guys have surprised him with their own ethics]]. ''SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker'' himself stunned RedSkull by refusing to work with a Nazi like him. * The Queen of Fables [[ThoroughlyMistakenIdentity thinks]] Franchise/WonderWoman is Literature/SnowWhite and Superman is PrinceCharming. She eventually discovers Superman's secret identity, and is unable to comprehend why "Prince Charming" would marry a "peasant" like Lois Lane instead of royalty like Snow White or herself. She also doesn't understand killing people and causing destruction just to get his attention won't get him to fall in love with her.* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Rorschach isn't exactly evil, but he's still a brutal, criminally insane vigilante. At the end, when Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, and Manhattan listen to Veidt's argument and realize that revealing his crimes won't save anyone, but will only jeopardize the peace that might come about as a result, Rorschach assumes that they're only joking. He doesn't believe that any superhero would let a villain go unpunished, even if it might be necessary to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': [[BigBad Winthrop]] and Jinnai ruled the post-Third Impact world with an iron fist and used Asuka like their plaything for three years. Neither of them is capable to understand why Asuka would choose a nice, understanding and caring person like Shinji over two blood-thirsty tyrants and virtual rapists or why she would turn against them; so they tell themselves Asuka is just a traitorous slut because they can not think of another reason.* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': Trying to find a way to bring Shinji under SEELE's control, his grandfather tried to talk him into living with him. Shinji turned down his grandfather's offer because he also abandoned him... and the elder Ikari didn't understand why Shinji had a trouble with that.-->"Three thousand, five hundred and forty nine"\\At least Keel and his Grandfather had the decency to glance at each other in confusion for a second, before turning back to face him.\\"I'm sorry Shinji? I don't understand-"\\"Three thousand, five hundred and forty nine" he repeated, biting off each word with a knife like edge as he stared across the table at the uncomprehending men. "It's the number of days since my Father sent me off to live with my uncle. It also happens to be the number of days since anyone from the rest of my extended family bothered to so much as acknowledge that I even existed."\\The look on his Grandfather's face more than anything else dragged Shinji back from the edge. He appeared utterly confused at his response, befuddled even, and it suddenly hit Shinji that they simply didn't understand.* In the popular ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'', Uncle lampshades this as one of Daolon Wong's traits in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the dark chi wizard, saying that Wong ''knows'' friendship and teamwork exist, but cannot understand them.** Ikazuki subtly shows he has a shade of this as well: he shows open disdain for human nobility, and can't seem to understand why Tohru still cares for Jade.** Drago has this as well, as Karasu points out in their fight. Because Shendu was [[BigScrewedUpFamily such]] [[AbusiveParents a horrible father to Drago]], the young dragon views offspring as an investment, and is unable to [[spoiler: understand why the Matriarch chose Karasu, an elite warrior, to watch her daughter, and why Jade (AKA the Matriarch) cares about the ones she loves]].** During their fight in the Hall of Ice, Jackie [[SaveTheVillain saves]] [[TheDragon Hebi]] from a potential DisneyVillainDeath. Afterwards, she's utterly baffled as to why he did that, especially since she had previously just tried to kill him.* In ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'' (a ''Fanfic/ProjectDarkJade'' fic, just like ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'' above), [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Miranda]] is completely baffled when [[HumanoidAbomination Tracker]] lets [[TokenGoodTeammate Jade]] get nice with [[HellHound Sniffer]] after [[PetTheDog Jade gave the hound some of her food]]. Since she considers Tracker to be [[EvilerThanThou an even bigger monster than herself]], she can't believe he would be civil with Jade simply because of that, and the only way she can explain it to herself is by assuming that Jade used some kind of spell. She's still convinced Jade is using magic when the spider-girl sees her playing with Sniffer in the next chapter.* This shows up in ''FanFic/{{Webwork}}'', another Dark Jade fic, as well.** Jade can't seem to wrap her head around why her family and friends aren't happy about [[TranshumanTreachery the changes]] in her life.** The Mexican crime boss known as the Old Colonel admits to this, stating that while he knows that the J-Team won't allow any harm to come to him out of a sense of morality, and is counting on it, he just can't understand ''why''.** [[TheBrute Tarantuala]] is infuriated by the fact that Jade has [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]], and can't seem to get why someone with Jade's power isn't actively killing people and the like, as [[FullyEmbracedFiend she uses her transformation as an excuse to act out her darker impulses]].* ''FanFic/GettingBackOnYourHooves''' BigBad, Checker Monarch [[spoiler: (Trixie's sister)]], has this problem--specifically, she's so far miscalculated how much Trixie's friends care about her and how willing they are to forgive her. Justified as, according to WordOfGod, she's based on real life [[TheSociopath sociopaths]], who, by definition, are unable to understand concepts such as compassion and empathy.** In the sequel ''Fanfic/TarnishedDiamonds'', after the previous story's BigBad, Checker Monarch, told Diamond Tiara she was just like her as a filly, then had her schemes exposed, Diamond is trying to change, not wanting to turn out like Checker, especially since [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes she loves her family]] and doesn't want to become someone who would torture them. The thing is, while she's had a HeelRealization, she doesn't yet get ''why'' bullying the CMC is wrong (though she is trying to repress her desire to do so).* ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'':** Discord has this problem, and it's even outright mentioned at one point by Twilight as being his FatalFlaw. Celestia also mentions in the [[{{Prequel}} Origins Arc]] that Discord was completely incapable of truly comprehending love and [[spoiler:is the only one of his family who had this problem, including his two EldritchAbomination parents, Havoc and Entropy. Notably, WordOfGod confirmed that Entropy, despite being an OmnicidalManiac by job description, comprehended it, and yet Discord can't.]] Discord knows this himself, but has simply chosen to ignore it and continue his sick games.** In the [[BadFuture Dark World]] [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Twilight Tragedy]] is left baffled by [[CheerfulChild Apple Pie]] being able to laugh at one of Discord's jokes after [[TraumaCongaLine having a large number of her friends murdered right in front of her]]. So she assumes the form of an Earth Pony filly named Half Light Dawn to ask her herself. She discovers that pretty much all of Apple Pie's reasons for doing so are the polar opposite of everything she believes, but are none the less logical without conflicting with hers. This ends up awakening her old emotions and memories and sending her into a VillainousBSOD that results in her HeelFaceTurn.]]** Discord is such an extreme example of this that [[spoiler:even his ''own'' acts of compassion baffle him. In the Epilogue timeline, Equestria is invaded by aliens. Discord travels to the heart of the alien empire to prank their leader...and discovers a [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} dying and sick old man on life support]]. Discord is filled with pity at the sight and gives the old man a day of perfect health. When Discord returns home he goes on a tirade because he doesn't understand why he felt so sorry for the man.]]** Dark World offers another example in [[TheStarscream the Valeyard]], who views working with others as a weakness and fails to understand why the heroes won't give up fighting. [[spoiler: The former leads to his defeat, as it's the heroes working together that brings about his defeat.]]** [[spoiler: [[BiggerBad Nightmare Eclipse/Paradox]] is [[KnightTemplar incapable]] of believing Discord could actually have good in him. She also is at a loss to explain how a [[GroundhogDayLoop previous iteration]] of Trixie obtained [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Alicornification]] and was able to leave a WoundThatWillNotHeal on her.]]** Chrysalis assumes the reason why Prince Blueblood refuses to run away from her is because he's stupid and completely lacks the survival instinct. In reality, he genuinely cares about Cadence and Celestia and was trying to help them, and he was also helping the civilians evacuate.** This trope is why [[spoiler:[[AGodIAm Queen Chrysalis' Alicornification]]]] [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor turns out differently than she planned.]] [[spoiler:Chrysalis only saw divinity as being power and considered her {{Sociopath}}y as nature. As a result, the Elements of Harmony [[VillainousBSOD giving her a heart]] to complete her and make her fit the mold of an Alicorn takes her by surprise and results in a [[VillainousBreakdown mental breakdown.]]]] [[spoiler:Cadence]] calls her out on this thinking and the Interviewers even lampshade this trope:--->'''Unicorn Interviewer:''' That's the biggest irony of them all. Those that seek [[spoiler:Godhood]] without knowing what it truly means. Those like [[spoiler:Chrysalis]]... they only see the vague outline, not the complete whole. They see power, and that's it... [[spoiler:And Chrysalis is now seeing the price of divinity. [[BigBad Discord]] is the only God with no compassion for life at all, and even he had an innate capacity for it he buried over the eons... Even the End of All Things includes an End of All Suffering...]]* ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'' is notable in that ''every single villain'' in the story has this problem, to varying degrees. The only one who is close to understanding how the heroes think is [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nihilus]], who has access to all of Twilight's memories, and even she underestimates them in the end.* In ''Fanfic/TheLastSon'', Magneto, Doctor Doom, Sebastian Shaw, [[spoiler: General Zod]], and Apocalypse cannot understand why Superman does not use his powers to conquer the world.** Darkseid, as usual. It comes with the territory of being the GodOfEvil and all.* In ''Return to Prince Manor'' the son of the Winter Queen assumes mental control over Harry and Draco and commands them to kill Snape. Problem is:-->Jarillion might be a master of compulsion, and his love of discord second to none, but one thing he had never understood and that was how the ties of blood and love bound one another, a love so powerful that even the best spell of obedience could not compel Harry to destroy Severus.* In the ''[[Fanfic/PonyPOVSeriesChaosVerse Chaos Verse]]'' (a spin off of the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries''), the BigBad is shown to suffer from this: [[spoiler: Nightmare Phobia is able to manipulate and feed off of ponies' fears, but she doesn't understand how they're able to fight those fears and break free of her control.]]* In ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime'', this trope is Averted, Defied, and Discussed. This is what makes Professor Moriarty an even more dangerous opponent than he was in the [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Sherlockian Canon]]--he even goes so far as to ''mock'' Holmes for not having studied the affairs of the heart.* In "Metamorphosis," a part of the MLP fanfic series FanFic/TheNuptialverse, [[BiggerBad Queen Chrysalis]] is shown to not understand why Twilight still fought for her mentor, her brother, and her friends, even after they outright abandoned her, or how Cadence could continue to love a stallion that let her down.** [[SmugSnake Olive Branch]], the BigBad of ''Families'', refuses to believe that anyone as powerful as the Princesses is as selfless as they appear.*** A minor example, but Olive Branch also cannot fathom why most citizens still support Princess Celestia despite letting the Changeling Invasion happen.** A flashback to Sunset Shimmer's foalhood reveals that Celestia had her look into a magic mirror that shows the viewer their deepest desires. For Sunset, it was becoming an Alicorn and ruling solely over Equestria, and she seemed rather confused when this unsettled Celestia.** Celestia discusses this trope with Fluttershy in ''Direction'' and explains it to her truly evil beings deny seeing anything good in the world, because they are unable to grasp that others aren't as self-centered as they are.** When Trixie is gathering individuals for her VillainTeamUp, the mad showmare can't understand why Gilda immediately wouldn't jump at the chance to get revenge on Rainbow Dash.*** After [[spoiler: being freed from the Alicorn Amulet, Trixie's cellmate Olive Branch laughs at the idea that she would feel remorse on what she's done.]]** In her second appearance, [[spoiler: Chrysalis didn't expect for the Mane Five to get over their guilt in the course of one year.]]* [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Wesker]] in Fanfic/MyLittleWesker can't understand why [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic these ponies]] act so friendly and trusting to everyone they meet, after he's stuck there as a pony. At first, he's paranoid that it's all an act to gain his trust, but then concludes that these ponies are too stupid for malice.* ''FanFic/JusticeLeagueOfEquestria'':** ''Mare of Steel'':*** During the final fight of the first arc, [[DiscOneFinalBoss General Zod]] expresses confusion as to why Rainbow Dash/Supermare would settle for being Equestria's hero, when as a Kryptonian she could [[AGodAmI rule as a god]].*** In the second arc, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} is a being that runs completely on logic, and is thus thrown for a loop when Rainbow Dash [[TakeAThirdOption takes a third option]], based entirely on emotion, to escape a SadisticChoice that, logically, should have been escape proof.** In ''The Princess of Themyscria'', [[BigBad Ares]] seems absolutely baffled when Diana decides to keep fighting him to protect the mortal realm from his attempts at a ForeverWar, when he can't see anything of worth to protect.* In the HungerGames fanfiction ''Fanfic/SomeSemblanceOfMeaning'', [[BloodKnight Amber]] just cannot seem to understand why [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Obsidian]] would be so "dysfunctional" as to care about others and want to protect innocent "weaklings." [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove And she views love as a foreign concept]].* In WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents fanfiction, ''Fanfic/NeverHadAFriendLikeMe'', [[JerkassGenie Norm]] has trouble dealing with [[OriginalCharacter Ama]][[ShrinkingViolet nda]] initially because he's never met an unselfish human who didn't immediately try to waste all three wishes.* In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' fanfic called "Haunted Destiny", the evil ghost Valara fails to understand why Danny won't return her love after deciding to kill off innocent people to make him have more time for her.* In the MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic fanfic novella ''NightmaresAreTragic'', this is one of the biggest weaknesses of the Nightshadows. The one possessing Luna in general comprehends neither her code of honor nor her fundamental morality (which lead her to increasingly rebel against its control), and he in particular fails to grasp that she still loves the [[TheLostLenore memory]] of her [[OneTrueLove husband Dusk Skyshine]] from her [[{{Reincarnation}} earlier Aspect]] as [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Moondreamer]]. When Luna discovers that [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle ''is'' a reincarnation of Dusk, her resultant [[ReincarnationRomance emotions]]]] give her the strength to begin [[spoiler:FightingFromTheInside against the Nightshadow]].* It happens on a lesser scale in ''Fanfic/BleachFanWorks''. Vanilla River, an InUniverse fanfic writer who likes [[RonTheDeathEater demonizing]] Orihime [[DieForOurShip to ship Rukia and Ichigo together]], cannot understand why Orihime would say, in response, that she wants to get together with Ichigo, but does not hate Rukia, the one she would consider to be her main rival.* In one story of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Maddie gives an epic speech to Vlad how he is incapable of love. However, Vlad just shrugs it off.* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', goodness disgusts the Stardroid Terra, and he doesn't really understand it to begin with.* In a ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10946979/8/The-Bundle-of-Curiosity drabble fic]], Kunzite wonders why the Senshi continue to fight even though their master is dead. The idea that they might oppose the Dark Kingdom ''because they want to''--not because Sailor Moon ordered them to--never crosses his mind. Neither does the idea that murdering is wrong [[note]]although, to be fair, he ''was'' brainwashed into serving the BigBad[[/note]].* In ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'', [[Disney/TheBlackCauldron the Horned King]] is [[ResurrectedForAJob brought back to life]] by [[CosmicEntities the Fates]] and given a [[ImpossibleTask seemingly absurd]] [[RedemptionQuest mission]]: he must under 18 months earn a human's love or else he'll be [[SealedEvilInACan trapped]] inside [[ArtifactOfDoom the Black Cauldron]] [[AndIMustScream permanently]]. At first he's not interested to try and reach for something he (a [[IAmAMonster hideous]] warlord and [[WalkingWasteland scary]] mass-murderer) can't possibly achieve, but then he takes a prisoner to keep his return a secret. The prisoner, [[PurityPersonified Avalina]], surprises him numerous times with her extraordinarily strong [[FriendToAllLivingThings aura]] of [[FertileFeet Life]], purity and [[PluckyGirl ability to hold on to her ideals despite every bad thing that happens to her]] (because of him or otherwise). The most astonishing thing for the lich is that over the months they spend together in his castle, the girl is able to let go of her fear of him, [[SympathyForTheDevil pity]] his [[BeingEvilSucks sad existence]] and [[StockholmSyndrome call him her friend]]. Also, as he hasn't had [[SoulAnatomy a heart]] for [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld centuries]], he hasn't felt positive emotions for a long time. When [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Avalina]] [[FirstTimeFeeling causes them in him]] with her beautiful [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast piano playing]] and aura, [[WhatIsThisFeeling he struggles to recognize them]].** Creeper, [[BadBoss the Horned King's]] goblin [[SycophanticServant lackey]], has for his entire life served his terrifying master, having to endure [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil the lich's chokings]] and [[FriendlessBackground his soldiers' bullying]], [[FreudianExcuse becoming a self-serving coward in order to survive]]. He's confused when Avalina [[PleaseSpareHimMyLiege begs]] for the Horned King to spare him despite the fact that the goblin [[KickTheDog caused a bad bruise on the girl's face while she was at her weakest]]. The air of kindness Avalina brings is quite alien for Creeper initially, along with his master's [[LimaSyndrome growing kindness]] towards [[MoralityPet Avalina]].* Even if he's more a WellIntentionedExtremist than an evil person,in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10669760/17/Don-t-look-back-in-Anger Don't look back in Anger]]'' Dumbledore chooses to not warning Lupin, Harry or any other member of the Order about Voldemort's plan to kidnapping Luna. His reason? He thinks that Harry, who can [[AstralProjection project his soul out of his body]], will follow her and then come back to tell them were is Voldemort's base. Hermione knows that Harry will not leave her and will die with Luna before that. Dumbledore just don't understand that because he didn't see nothing wrong in risking only one life(Luna)to end the war, even if that life is a child. It's LampshadeHanging by the author, who says that Dumbledore is unable to make an emotional connection because he had never been a parent and can´t understand that every parent in his office would die before sacrifice his or her own child. After the Dark Lord is vanquished[[RealityEnsues Dumbledore is fired from his job of Headmaster and no one, even his brother, want to have anything with him because a person who can leave kids to die will never be work on a school]].* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse''** In Carrot Top Season, the Flim Flam Brothers try to blackmail Carrot Top by infesting Sweet Apple Acres with a devastating weed and threatening to tell everypony they did it on her instructions, anticipating that nopony would believe her innocence due to their rivalry. They had never considered that Carrot Top would have already helped the Apples in stopping the infestation, since the idea of helping an enemy is completely alien to them.** The BigBad of Secret of Andalantis cannot understand why Lyra would help the seaponies and merponies, since she's not one of them.* ''Fanfic/TheElementsOfFriendship'': In Book IS (1.5), Trixie is convinced that Twilight ''must'' have spread word of her being a fraud to all of Equestria, because that's what she would have done. Later, when Sunflower [[TakingTheBullet takes the spell]] meant for Babs, Trixie is utterly baffled, as it's something she would never do herself.* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': The BigBad [[spoiler:Bagan]] has a VillainousBreakdown at one point, unable to understand why Godzilla and the other Kaiju would choose to defend Equestria.* ''Fanfic/ParallelLegends'': [[spoiler:Vaati]] doesn't understand why Princess Zelda will not return his affections, even after he points out the current incarnation of Link doesn't seem to love her. Unfortunately, he just becomes a bigger StalkerWithACrush to the point of kidnapping her and giving her a ForcefulKiss and only makes himself more undesirable.* In ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'', Allysion is such a depraved fundamentalist sociopath that she doesn't understand how Sonic could be a potential ally. Maledict suffers this too to a lsser extent, as he he is utterly baffled that Sonic is fighting him [[spoiler: despite Sonic being his "son"]]. Also becomes a plot point in Episode 74; [[spoiler: when Cosmo forgives Tsali for the things he did to her and her people, the resulting literal LogicBomb in his programming causes him to do a HeelFaceTurn]].* In ''Fanfic/SayItThrice'', Lydia's [[EvilUncle Evil Aunt]] Melinda seems completely incapable of understanding that not everyone shares her [[FantasticRacism views on ghosts]]. At the end of the story, [[spoiler: as she's [[RealityEnsues being arrested for trying to kill Lydia]] (for siding against her), she seems completely baffled as to why, as she sees it as having been justified in the fulfillment of her goals.]]* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1328572/1/And-The-Party-Died And the Party Died]]'' a Literature/NineteenEightyFour fanfic, [[BigBad O'Brien]] is face-to-face with an unusually brave dissident, who was arrested for having a homosexual affair. O'Brien brings the guy to Room101, where he is subjected to his worst fear: [[spoiler: electricity. The walls and door of the room are electrified]], and he will die unless he betrays his lover and accepts Big Brother. [[spoiler: The dissident, to O'Brien's horror, overcomes his fear and walks ''[[HeroicSacrifice right into the electric fence rather than betray his lover]]'', [[ThePowerOfLove because his love was that much stronger]]. O'Brien is so shocked to see someone defy his games out of love that he suffers a VillainousBreakdown]]. * ''FanFic/GFSerendipity'': Stan is the last person Bill Cipher expected to show up at Ford's shack. [[WordOfGod OrangePhoenix6]] mentions the estrangement between Stan and Ford to be one of Bill's reasons. Bill is later surprised that Stan wouldn't sell out Fiddleford to make him leave Ford alone.* Sort of, in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', if you accept that the four are the only “good goods” on C'hou. Everyone else is simply baffled by [[ActualPacifist their refusal to kill or even harm things]], to the point where [[spoiler: the Circle]] decides it's safer to depower and lock them up rather than let them continue behaving the way they do; they're worried that the four might try to take over the organization. Which completely misunderstands their motives, even though they explicitly say ''all they want to do is bring the Black Tower down as quickly as possible and go home''. No one can quite believe this.* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/633591/chapters/1546859 A Better Fate]] shows Littlefinger being so sure of Sansa's loyalties he doesn't hesitate to order a trial for Jon Snow, intending to destroy the last obstacle to have the girl. He never thought Sansa would feel disgusted rather than flattered by his behaviour towards her, even if he's the one to have protected her, and he was so confident she would hate Jon for being an insult towards Lady Stark's memory he forgot to take in account that Sansa would be desesperate to keep her last blood relative safe after losing her entire family.* In ''FanFic/BrideOfDiscord'' Discord is initially confused as to why Fluttershy is still soaking about the loss of her friends and freedom, instead of being happy that she is with someone that can literally give her any possession she ever wanted with snap of his claw, not getting that no material possession is equal to her very freedom and the ponies she loves. Also, it takes him awhile to realize that it just may be hard to ''woo'' somepony, he is keeping imprisoned away from everything she cares about, regardless of any comforts he can provide her.* In the ''Manga/OnePiece''/''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' crossover ''Fanfic/AGemInTheRough,'' Crocodile does not see the world in terms of good and evil, so a person like Steven completely baffles him.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'':** Gaston's unable to understand why Belle would choose the Beast over him. To him, love is just a convenient bargaining chip--or a distraction, or a function of physical beauty.** Gaston's also seemingly unable to understand why the Beast let him live at the end, if his final attack is any indication.** When the Beast is still selfish at the beginning of the film, he seems genuinely shocked that Belle would give up her freedom to take her father's place as a prisoner.* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2''. Instead of questioning how Po was able to grab the cannonballs and throw them back at his ships, Shen is baffled how Po was able to attain inner peace despite facing the one who murdered his birth parents and wiped out his people. For years, Shen has allowed the day his parents banished him to be the thing that drives him to get what he wants and continuously ignores the Soothsayer's requests that he not let his past control him. The fact that Po attained what Shen had wanted for years, inner peace, by listening to the same advice Shen ignored, completely baffles him.** Shen generally has trouble comprehending that, unlike him, Po isn't the type of person to hold a grudge (or at least he tries not to hold grudges against others). Earlier in the film, he carefully rehearsed his confrontation speech, expecting Po to angrily swear vengeance for his dead parents, only for the act to fall apart when Po just casually greeted him (but to be fair, Po was very tired and out of breath at the time, and didn't realize that Shen was the one who murdered his biological family).* While they're more 'weird' than 'evil', this is the basic premise of ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas''. Jack understands the basic feeling behind Christmas, but not how traditional Christmas icons translate into Christmas feelings. The other townsfolk don't have a clue and merrily set about to twisting Christmas toys to their own scary designs because they feel this improves them.* In Franchise/{{Disney|AnimatedCanon}}'s ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'', the Good Fairies disguise themselves as human peasants, give up their magic, move into a cottage in the forest, and raise Aurora/Briar Rose as though she were a foundling, because they know it will never cross Maleficent's mind that anyone could perform such a selfless act. As Fauna notes: "Maleficent doesn't know anything about love, or kindness, or the joy of helping others. You know, sometimes I don't think [[SympathyForTheDevil she's really very happy]]."* In ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', [[spoiler:Prince Hans' reaction to Anna's HeroicSacrifice and resulting recovery from her frozen heart has left him [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove perplexed and dumbstruck]].]] ** Also, The trolls entertain True Love's Kiss as being only one of the ways to save a frozen heart, [[spoiler:but Hans clearly believes that "True Love" can only come from the love of a man and a woman. He doesn't consider the love of siblings, though given his own relationship with his brothers and what Anna had told him about her relationship with Elsa, [[FreudianExcuse of course he wouldn't]]]].* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Lotso obviously never expected [[spoiler:Woody to return to TheAlcatraz to help his friends after he safely escaped, or for Ken to choose Barbie over him, a la [[Literature/HarryPotter Voldemort's assumption about Snape and Lily]].]]* In ''Disney/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'', Lady Tremaine and Drizella don't believe in love and assume that the King and the Prince are only being nice to them because they're obligated to be so. By contrast, it's Anastasia who realizes that [[ThePowerOfLove love is more powerful than magic]] and that the King and the Prince ''really are'' genuinely nice people. She quickly does a HeelFaceTurn.* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has this problem. He's blindsided when his Dragon Mirage makes a HeelFaceTurn after Syndrome left her to die to call Mr. Incredible's bluff. He never considered her feelings in the matter, so he felt that his reassurance that he knew that Mr. Incredible probably wouldn't kill her was enough. He's ''utterly surprised'' when she angrily tells him to bet his ''own'' life next time he gambles and walks away.** He also has a short moment where he [[CompletelyMissingThePoint completely misses the point]] when Bob calls him out on killing off real heroes so he could just pretend to be one. He thinks that Bob is talking about powers and disparaging Syndrome since he didn't have any, and retorted that he's "real enough to beat ''you''." It never crosses his mind that Mr. Incredible was actually talking about ''morality'', and meant that Syndrome was killing off good people who fought crime in order to help others so he could stage disasters and solve them [[GloryHound for glory]].* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'', when Sunset Shimmer threatens to destroy the portal back to Equestria if Twilight doesn't hand over the Element of Magic, [[spoiler:she is shocked when Twilight refuses, knowing what Sunset could do with it. Sunset never expected Twilight to jeopardize her way home to protect a world that wasn't hers.]]** Abacus Cinch, the principal of Crystal Prep in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'', is obsessed with winning the titular event. Once she becomes aware of the magic at Canterlot High, she assumes that they're using it to cheat, and promptly seeks to use it to ensure her victory. It never occurs to her that they would do otherwise. * In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'', as [[BigBad Drago Bludvist]] sees it, dragons can only be controlled through intimidation and fear. Working with dragons, nurturing them instead of enslaving them, is unthinkable to him. [[spoiler: Exemplified when Toothless overrides the Dark Alpha's control to protect Hiccup]].* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'', Batman's counterpart Owlman doesn't understand why Batman doesn't come to the same conclusion about the futility of choice and thus existence.-->'''Batman:''' [[NotSoDifferent There]] ''[[SubvertedTrope is]]'' [[NotSoDifferent a difference between you and me.]] [[DespairEventHorizon We both looked into the abyss; but when it looked back to us...]] ''[[FallenHero you blinked]]''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* The TagLine to ''Film/PansLabyrinth'' is "Innocence has a power evil cannot comprehend", which explains a lot of Cpt. Vidal's actions, as well as [[spoiler:his inability to see the Faun]] at the end. Case in point: he's left utterly bewildered when Dr. Ferreiro chooses to MercyKill a captured rebel to spare him more ColdBloodedTorture at Vidal's hands, despite knowing that Vidal would undoubtedly kill him for doing so.-->'''Dr. Ferreiro:''' To obey--just like that--for obedience's sake... Without questioning... [[MyCountryRightOrWrong That is something only men like you can do, Captain]].* ''Franchise/StarWars'':** ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The EvilutionaryBiologist Kaminoans cannot understand why Jango would want an unaltered son to raise.** ''Film/ANewHope'': [[EarthShatteringKaboom Alderaan gets destroyed]] by Grand Moff Tarkin as a warning to star systems thinking of opposing the Empire or sympathizing with the Rebel Alliance. It has the opposite effect, making many systems more sympathetic to the Rebellion, and in the expanded universe, it even sparked a mass defection by Alderaan-born Imperial officers. Leia even told him "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers..."** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'':*** Emperor Palpatine's arrogance and relentless self-centeredness blind him to the idea that Luke would show mercy and redeem his father instead of co-ruling the Galaxy--with someone he is destined to overthrow in due time, no less--causing his carefully-laid plans to fail. The idea that Darth Vader would turn on him rather than watch his son be murdered presumably never entered his mind either.*** This is foreshadowed earlier, when Vader senses Luke aboard a captured Imperial shuttle headed for Endor. Palpatine comments that he cannot sense anything--presumably because he's turned so completely to the Dark Side that he simply doesn't recognize the rest of the Force. It also explains why he isn't more careful about provoking Vader's HeelFaceTurn: he could only sense the evil side of him.*** For Luke specifically, his main error was in not realizing that Luke didn't really seek power, to the point that some in the expanded universe speculate on whether he [[IncorruptiblePurePureness even really understood the idea of wanting it]]. While rage against Vader and the Emperor was a temptation to the Dark Side, he really had no reason to side with them.* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': ** The Joker's "social experiment" [[spoiler:uses a SadisticChoice in an attempt to prove that people are cruel at heart, but both groups do the right thing. In a gloriously believable way, no less. It's not a stretch to think that not a single typical civilian will be cruel and cold enough to actually blow up a ship, even one full of criminals. Flip side, it's also believable that there might be just one guy on the ship of criminals who's not all bad.]] Batman even spells this trope out to the Joker, who can only look at the ships, dumbfounded and disappointed.--->'''Batman:''' [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech What were you hoping to prove? That, deep down, everyone's as ugly as you? You're]] ''[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech alone!]]''** What makes it even more this trope is that the Joker [[spoiler:wasn't counting on a convict having turned his life around]].** [[spoiler:Then Batman [[ZeroApprovalGambit takes the blame for Harvey's crimes to further thwart the Joker]].]]* ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Henry Ducard, [[spoiler:AKA the real Ra's al Ghul]], doesn't understand why the Batman refuses to be [[KnightTemplar an executioner]].* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', Amon Goeth often can't understand Schindler's actions of compassion towards his Jewish workers. In particular, he acts thoroughly confused when Oskar wants to buy all of them before they go to Auschwitz, trying to figure out how Oskar will make money off this. It never once occurs to him that Oskar might simply want to save a thousand people from genocide.* Film/TransformersFilmSeries:** ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'': Megatron and two other Decepticons [[CurbStompBattle gang up on Optimus Prime]]. The battle revolves mostly around why Prime thinks Sam Witwicky is [[AlasPoorScrappy so darn important]].--->'''Megatron:''' Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?\\'''Optimus Prime:''' [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope You'll never stop]] [[OmnicidalManiac at one]]! ''[[PapaWolf I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!]]''** Occurs again in the [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon third film]]. [[spoiler: Sentinel Prime has decided to cooperate with the Decepticons to enslave humanity as a work force to rebuild Cybertron. He makes it clear that he wants to ensure that the Cybertronian race doesn't die out and believes his authority as a Prime puts him above coexisting peacefully with humans. So it becomes a huge case of frustration for him when Optimus Prime, his former student, chooses to defend the freedom of mankind over the possibility of having his home restored. Optimus simply responds by saying that it was ''Sentinel'' who taught him that "freedom was everyone's right."]]** In ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]'', Harold Attinger and the rest of Cemetery Wind are incapable of realizing that there ''are'' good and bad aliens and their actions are just as evil and extreme as the Decepticons.* In ''Film/{{Patton}}'', one German points out that Patton, who they believe will lead the invasion of Europe, is facing a public backlash after slapping a soldier and may be court-martialed. He gets the reply "Don't believe their newspapers! They would never keep their best general out of the war just for slapping a soldier." That's ''exactly'' what they do (albeit as part of a BatmanGambit). This is an interesting case, as in the [[BlackAndGreyMorality harsh reality of war]], overlooking personal failings--even major personal crimes--of a great general might really be the "good" thing to do, not just the expedient thing. Keeping your best leaders in the field saves soldier's lives. [[note]]And you can always punish him after he's done doing his job, after all.[[/note]] Patton's commander, Eisenhower, thought the man was AxCrazy and liable to screw up the Alliance with his rivalry with Montgomery and his open hostility towards the Soviet Union. Putting him in charge of the decoy invasion served two purposes for Ike: it convinced the Germans that the decoy was actually real, and it kept Patton out of the front lines (and the headlines).* In ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven'', Callvera's last words to Chris were "You came back... for a place like this... Why? A man like you... Why?" The reason he let them go in the first place was because he thought they were all on the same terms, and thus they would never come back to save a bunch of farmers.* Played straight in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions''--Neo's refusal to give up, no matter how badly he's beaten, allows him to push Smith into a VillainousBreakdown without saying a word. ''Then'' Neo [[spoiler: allows Smith to assimilate him. Smith is completely surprised that Neo would do such a thing, and is even more surprised when, his purpose fulfilled, he is wiped out of existence.]]* Mr. Potter from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' goes through the entire movie without picking up so much as a clue as to what makes Peter, George, or indeed any of the Bedford Falls townspeople tick. Potter's expectations that George will hand the Building and Loan over to him in exchange for a job or that the townspeople will quickly turn against George at the first opportunity are disappointed throughout the movie. It never dawns on him there's something about his fellow men that he just doesn't get.* Used and subverted early in ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. Someone from the [[SchoolForScheming Academy]] says that Simon Tam "must be crazy" to have run such risks and gone to such lengths to save River. The Operative, true to his WellIntentionedExtremist nature, recognizes love for what it is: [[ThePowerOfLove something much more dangerous]].-->'''Operative:''' Madness? Have you looked at these tapes? At his face? It's ''love'', in point of fact. Something far more dangerous.* In ''Film/SupermanII'', General Zod and Ursa assume Supes is protecting the humans because they are his pets.* In the end, the BigBad of ''Film/GhostShip'' tries to tempt the FinalGirl into his trap by [[spoiler: turning into the crew mate that he just killed. He attempts to use the crewman's love to trick her, but fails horribly because he believes the material items he offers will win her over. Shows up after his ruse is uncovered when he tries to trade her life for keeping the ship afloat and can't seem to understand that she doesn't care that she may die if she can destroy the ship and free all the trapped souls.]]* In ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', while beating him up, [[EvilUncle Nizam]] remarks to Dastan his dislike of the King adopting the homeless boy and making him Prince. Earlier, the King did explain that Dastan is brave and noble, so he judged him worthy of becoming Prince.-->'''Nizam:''' I never understood why my brother brought ''trash'' into our house! Enjoy the gutter, Dastan! It's where you will stay under ''my'' rule!* In ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'', both Holmes and Moriarty employ a SherlockScan to predict the outcome of their final confrontation, and both come to the same conclusion: [[spoiler: that due to Holmes' injured shoulder, he can't win]]. However, [[spoiler: Moriarty--self-interested to the point of outright sociopathy--couldn't comprehend that Holmes was [[HeroicSacrifice willing to sacrifice his own life]] to defeat him.]]* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', after the titular superhero has soundly defeated [[BigBad the Kingpin]] and has a chance to FinishHim, Kingpin is dumbfounded by Daredevil's refusal to do so.-->'''Kingpin:''' I ... I don't understand. Why?\\'''Daredevil:''' Because [[CallBack I'm not the bad guy]].* In ''Film/TheLastStand'', [[BigBad Cortez]] seems completely baffled that [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Roy]] won't accept a bribe of millions of dollars (escalating with each offer) to let him [[RunForTheBorder cross the border and escape to Mexico]].-->'''Roy:''' My honor's not for sale.\\'''Cortez:''' [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck your honor!]]* ''OhGodYouDevil'' features George Burns as both God and the Devil. When the Devil has manipulated a man into attempting suicide, he and God have a poker showdown for the soul. God raises the stakes, offering to cease protecting a great many of people at risk if he loses, but that the Devil will cease interfering if God wins. When the Devil considers the offer, he decides there's no way God would do this without being certain of victory, since one man wasn't worth it. To Him, one man was. It's played for a strange form of PG-rated BlackComedy.* In ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', Nathan Algren is greatly haunted by the atrocities he committed in the past as a soldier. His fellow soldier Bagley sees his own atrocities as [[IDidWhatIHadToDo duty]] and [[ButForMeItWasTuesday barely remembers them]]. Bagley cannot understand why Algren is so bothered by them.* In ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., doesn't understand why Seymour Krelborn would want to kill him, because Scrivello had never done anything to Seymour. He never imagines that anyone would want to protect ''Audrey,'' of all people.-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' What did I ever do to you?-->'''Seymour Krelborn:''' Nothing. It's what you did to ''her''.-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Her who?-->'''Seymour Krelborn:''' ...-->'''Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.:''' Oh. ''Her''.* Elsa Schneider in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''. Throughout the movie, she can’t understand that Indy doesn’t want to find the grail for the same reasons as her. She insists that [[NotInThisForYourRevolution she “believes in the grail, not the Swastika”]], but Indy retorts that she “stood up to be counted with the enemy of everything the Grail stands for.” In the end, she refuses to believe that the grail isn’t meant for her to keep. As she heads for the exit, she crosses the Great Seal and triggers the temple’s collapse. She almost falls into a chasm but Indy catches her. Instead of letting him save her, she pulls a hand free to reach the grail that she dropped. She comes so close, but her glove slips off the hand Indiana was holding and she loses her life. Henry Sr. later comments that Elsa thought the grail was “a prize” and she didn’t understand the spiritual meaning behind it.* ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'': John Milton [[spoiler: {{Satan}}]] succeeds in the beginning because he is expert in manipulating Kevin's vanity and ego. [[spoiler: He also thought Kevin would forget that he raped his wife and would lust after his demon half-sister. Ultimately Kevin loved his wife more and was selfless enough to kill himself rather than create the Anti-Christ, which literally makes Milton [[VillainousBreakdown explode]]. And when Kevin is brought back to life, Milton sees Kevin's new moral stance as just another form of vanity he can manipulate]].* At the end of ''Film/PathsOfGlory'', General Broulard is so impressed by Colonel Dax's efforts in his battle against General Mireau to save his men from public execution that he's going to offer him Mireau's place. When Dax refuses because he wasn't doing it to have a promotion, Mireau is completely dumbfounded that anyone would try to save lives without something to gain from it, and threatens to have Dax arrested.* ''Film/MidnightRun'': [[TheMafia Serrano]] is aggravated by the idea that someone like Jack would give up his family and career rather than become a DirtyCop on his payroll. [[spoiler: He also never expected that Jack would work the FBI to bring him down, instead of getting Marudukas back, which is what Jack had been focused on since the beginning of the film]].* In ''Film/RichieRich'' Laurence Van Dough spends the movie trying to break into the Rich family vault which he naturally assumes is packed with mountains of gold, jewels, and money. When he finally does enter, all he finds is various family artifacts and memories of key moments in the Richs' lives. Van Dough is stunned, unable to accept the idea that anyone would waste a vault on such "junk," not getting that to the Riches, these are true treasures. -->'''Van Dough:''' I don't get it. Where's the money?-->'''Mr. Rich:''' In banks. Where else?** The Riches don't even bother hiding how they think Van Dough is an idiot for assuming that the richest family in the world would keep their wealth hidden around rather than investing it in stocks. * ''Film/{{Downfall}}'' has Heinrich Himmler, the leader of the Nazi PraetorianGuard and the man responsible for the concentration camps, surrender to the advancing British army on the assumption that [[{{Realpolitik}} the Allies would prop up the Nazi regime in Germany to prevent the Communist Soviets from taking over]]. It seems to escape him that after all the horrendous atrocities they have committed, any human of normal moral code wouldn't consider co-operating with them for a second.* ''Film/FallingDown'': Nick, a crazed, homophobic, Neo-Nazi, hears about D-Fens [[GoingPostal antics]] and assumes that D-Fens [[NotSoDifferent is a crazed racist like him]], rather than a man having a nervous breakdown. He flips out when D-Fens tells him off. * ''Film/GreenLantern'': What ultimately brings Parallax down. Because he feeds off fear, he believes courage means having no fear whatsoever. He assumes Hal Jordan will fall because he has fear in him. Courage is about not letting fear take control, which is why Parallax underestimates him and is unable to feed off him.* ''Film/KingRalph'': [[AristocratsAreEvil Lord Graves]], in an attempt to discredit [[RagsToRoyalty Ralph]], pays Miranda, a showgirl that Ralph fallen for to [[HoneyTrap seduce him]]. When Miranda [[BecomingTheMask genuinely falls for Ralph]] and calls the deal off, Graves naturally assumes that she just wants more money. * As in the comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor has this going on twice:** In ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', when Ms. Teschmacher asked if he thinks that Superman is the real deal, Luthor replies that if he is, he's not from Earth. Granted, Superman ''is'' a HumanAlien, but it does show that Luthor doesn't believe anyone on Earth could be as selfless as Superman.** This is his whole reason for his hatred of Superman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'': he was abused as a child, and prayed to God for it to stop, only for it to continue, concluding that either GodIsEvil or doesn't exist. Naturally, he views Superman's mere existence as an affront to his worldview.* In the original ''Film/MiracleOnThirtyFourthStreet'', Dr. Sawyer is about the closest thing thing we have to a legitimate villain. He openly believes that the only reason Alfred likes playing Santa, or that Kris claims to be Santa, is because they are both delusional. As far as he's concerned, anyone who's that nice has be harboring a severe guilt complex.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', none of the villains is able to understand that some member of the Hurog family would ''not'' kill or otherwise sacrifice their own family members in order to become Hurogmeten instead of the Hurogmeten. Thus, Ward is easily able to pretend that, of course, he will kill his uncle to get the castle back. * In ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'', this is [[BiggerBad Ruin's]] undoing. He is sentient destruction and entropy, and only builds up one thing if he knows he can use it to destroy two or more other things later. He is literally incapable of understanding human love and emotion, that there is more to life than the chaos of death at the end, why anyone would create something and NOT seek to destroy it later, but see it grow instead. Thus, when his unwilling servant kills Elend, Vin no longer has a reason NOT to sacrifice herself, and uses the power she inherited from Preservation (Ruin's counterpart that gave up a piece of his soul to give mankind sentience), to destroy him, (which Preservation was literally incapable of doing, so he created humanity to do so for him).* The plan to throw the Ring into Mount Doom in J.R.R. Tolkien's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' is largely this trope played straight. It's a running theme of the book.** Gandalf's plan hinges on the trope: ''"Well, let folly be our cloak, a veil before the eyes of the Enemy... the only measure that he knows is desire, desire for power; and so he judges all hearts. Into his heart the thought will not enter that any will refuse it, that having the Ring we may seek to destroy it."'' This assessment proves correct, and Gandalf and Aragorn are thus able to bluff Sauron into concentrating his attention on Gondor, allowing Frodo and Sam to slip into Mordor undetected. And, indeed, the moment Frodo puts on the ring inside Mount Doom, making its location known, Sauron immediately realizes the depth of his own folly and how close his destruction is.** Grima Wormtongue and Saruman are each extremely bewildered by mercy shown them by their enemies, and Saruman sees Frodo with great respect (and all the more hate for it) after Frodo lets him go.* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Morgoth never expects the Valar to come to the aid of the Noldor because "for him that is pitiless, the deeds of pity are ever strange and beyond reckoning."* In ''Literature/PresidentsVampire'', Wayman can't understand why Griff, who's dying of cancer, won't use the Elixir of Life (made of HumanResources and created by a [[{{Ghostapo}} Nazi]]) to save himself. When Griffin tells him that there are some values you'd never sell for anything, he's even more baffled.* In David Edding's ''Literature/TheTamuli'' trilogy, it is revealed that the EvilPlan of the guy who was behind the scenes in the ''The Elenium'' trilogy went belly up when one person did something he couldn't imagine happening: she gave the MacGuffin with ultimate power to someone else instead of keeping it herself.* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': At the end of [[VillainEpisode VISSER]] it's revealed that Visser One cannot understand the concept of love, in spite of having lived among humans for years and even going so far as to bear children and have a family.* Caine Soren from the Literature/{{GONE}} series seems genuinely puzzled in LIES as to why his female counterpart Diana Ladris doesn't want him to throw a helicopter full of children into a cliff. * In ''Literature/TheGreatPacificWar'', the Japanese government makes this error. They've been interfering in China and supplying arms to rebellious warlords, and they see a US mining company winning a contract there as a front for the US government to interfere in China and supply arms to the government, even though no such thing is happening.* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': It is repeatedly and explicitly stated that his inability to feel anything for anyone other than himself is Voldemort's FatalFlaw.** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone first book]], Quirrell sums up Voldemort's philosophy with the line "There is no good and evil; there is only power and those too weak to seek it." The line is said by Voldemort himself in the movie.** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix fifth book]], Dumbledore and Snape suspect Voldemort has discovered Harry's ability to access his mind, and that he might attempt to do the same, or worse, possess him entirely. [[spoiler:At the climax, Voldemort succeeds and Harry begs to be killed, but the thought of seeing his dead godfather again hurts Voldemort so much that his possession of Harry breaks.]] ** In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows last book]]:*** It's his inability to understand the meaning of "master of death" that stumps him. Voldemort considers it immortality because he cannot see the world beyond himself. Harry demonstrates that it is actually [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice walking into death without fear]]]]. Ironically enough, this course of action ends with [[spoiler:[[LaserGuidedKarma Harry's resurrection]] and Voldemort's KarmicDeath]]. *** Voldemort also plays with this by challenging Harry to [[spoiler: turn himself in, claiming that he will spare the other students of Hogwarts ([[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper or the pure-bloods, at least]]) if he does so]]. As Harry eavesdrops on Voldemort, Voldemort comments that he was honestly expecting it to work. However, at the same time, Harry points out that with this move, Voldemort made ''the exact same mistake again'' as he did the night he killed his parents: [[spoiler: forgetting the power inherent in a HeroicSacrifice]]. Inherent in the challenge is the fact that [[spoiler:he assumes Harry is using everyone around him as armor. It is incomprehensible to him that Harry's friends are fighting and dying of their own free will to protect someone else.]] Voldemort may understand intellectually that he can get what he wants from someone by threatening those they care for, but he doesn't understand ''why'' they behave this way.*** Two of Voldemort's followers betray him out of love for another--[[spoiler:Snape secretly switches sides because Voldemort killed Lily, and Narcissa Malfoy withholds key information from Voldemort to protect her son]].** It's not just Voldemort and his {{mooks}} who are like this. In the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets second book]], [[GloryHound Gilderoy]] [[ItsAllAboutMe Lockhart]] is so narcissistic that the thought never crosses his mind that [[HumbleHero Harry]] doesn't seek fame like he does.* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'':** ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'': Jadis' mistake when she tries to tempt Diggory in the garden (yes, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything this is supposed to remind you of something]]) is saying he could just leave Polly behind when he returns to Earth so no one will find out he stole the apple. Polly actually has her own way home, but the "very meanness of the suggestion" [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame makes Diggory realize Jadis isn't trying to help him or his mother]] and renders all her arguments moot to him.** In ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', Jadis mocks Aslan for [[spoiler:letting her kill him in Edmund's place. Just before she stabs him, she laughs about how it's a pointless sacrifice, as she'll just kill Edmund in the battle the next day.]] Aslan even tells this to Susan and Lucy, that the only reason the Witch didn't realize what would happen was because she didn't understand the true meaning of "sacrifice".* This is essentially the theme of Creator/CSLewis' ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'':** As the VillainProtagonist himself notes, an inherent problem demons have in their battle against God is that they fundamentally don't understand His motivation; the denizens of Hell believe that the whole concept of "love" is a cover story for something more selfish and nefarious. Hell even has a division of their research department dedicated to comprehending good. It's one of the [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption worst jobs to get in Hell]].** Further on in the book, Lewis seems to suggest that this problem is rooted in the nature of what evil is, in that evil is fundamentally incapable of creatively ''existing'' without good.--->"He has filled His world full of pleasures. There are things for humans to do all day long without His minding in the least--sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working. Everything has to be ''twisted'' before it's any use to us. We fight under cruel disadvantages. Nothing is naturally on our side."* Lewis asserts this straightforwardly, in his own voice, in ''Mere Christianity'': "Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either."* While not evil necessarily (more like inhuman), Vlad notes this about the Jeonine in ''Literature/{{Issola}}''. They hire him to kill the goddess Vera (who he's rather pissed off at), and he comments to his friends how they obviously have no understanding at all of humanity, to think he would actually do this.* Literature/{{Discworld}}: ** The New Death from ''Discworld/ReaperMan'' is absolutely baffled that Miss Flitworth was willing to [[spoiler: share her lifetimer's sand with Bill Door, the previous (and good guy) Grim Reaper]].** Reacher Gilt from ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' doesn't seem to understand the concept of trust or belief at all and just marvels at how easy everyone else is to fool. [[spoiler:He also doesn't understand Vetinari's 'angels' speech, [[IDieFree which leads him to choose the door]].]]* In Creator/SMStirling's ''Literature/IslandInTheSeaOfTime'' series, the otherwise smart and highly competent villain, William Walker, is caught out whenever somebody sacrifices their life to oppose him. He can't comprehend the act, or that being utterly callous and self-serving really offends people who can see through his charm. The scary subversion comes later when after surviving his defeat he never fails to try to understand the motivations and capacities of others.* Creator/MadeleineLEngle uses the quote above in ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime'', and it helps Meg Murray save Charles Wallace. [[spoiler:She realizes that the only thing she has which IT does not have is love. She [[PowerOfLove focuses on loving her little brother so much]] that IT is driven out in a CareBearStare of --]] hold on, [[SandInMyEyes got something in my eye...]]* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', KnightTemplar Javert cannot understand why Jean Valjean, someone he views as a criminal [[AllCrimesAreEqual and therefore evil]], would save his life with nothing to gain. [[spoiler:Javert jumps off a bridge so as not to have to perform an evil act himself: either turning in the man who saved him or allowing a criminal to go free.]]* In ''[[Literature/{{Xanth}} A Spell for Chameleon]]'', Trent hands over his sword to Bink so he will be armed while he keeps watch and [[KillMeNowOrForeverStayYourHand goes to sleep]]. Bink and Chameleon reason that Trent, despite the title "Evil Magician Trent", must be trustworthy because he is willing to trust them; an untrustworthy man would not have believed someone else to be trustworthy. (It's not the only evidence in his favor, but it's a strong piece of it.)* In Creator/SandyMitchell's ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel ''Duty Calls'', a renegade Inquisitor is quite [[KnightTemplar certain]] that Cain will appreciate why he acted as he did. Given that this included staging a massacre, abandoning innocents (including children) to an alien attack, summoning an alien attack to hide his tracks, and no less than three attempts to assassinate Cain, this does not work as expected; even a self-professed DirtyCoward like Cain is horrified.* In Creator/SandyMitchell's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''[[TabletopGame/DarkHeresy Scourge the Heretic]]'', while Kyrlock and Elyra are [[TheInfiltration infiltrating]] a smuggling operation, a man [[AttemptedRape goes to rape]] a girl also waiting to be smuggled. Elyra objects, and not comprehending why, he offers to share. Kyrlock realizes this, says that Elyra wouldn't take him up on it, but [[FakeDefector he would]]--which the man cannot believe would be false, so lets Kyrlock get close enough to brain him.* Creator/DanAbnett's ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'':** ''Only in Death'': [[spoiler: Soric]]'s [[EvilCripple keepers]] from [[FateWorseThanDeath the Black Ships]] think that he might kill Hark. (Hark, although he would not blame him if he did, knows that he is safe.)** ''Salvation's Reach'': Due to his one-sided grudge against Gaunt, Meryn just doesn't get the other man and thinks Gaunt's all about ceremony and favour. He could not be further from the truth.* This is actually how the BigBad in the first ''Literature/GreyKnights'' book is defeated. His end appearance features him giving a long TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, stating that humanity has given up all the morals it previously held dear. He is ironically defeated by one which no daemon has ever understood: [[spoiler: willing self sacrifice. With a brilliant Interrogator giving up her life, sanity, and soul in order to learn the daemon's true name so it can be banished.]]* This is how the [[BigBad Storm King]] is finally defeated in Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'' series. He plans for every act of resistance the heroes could offer, up to and including a [[EvilIsNotAToy last minute betrayal]] by Pryrates, but is fatally weakened when [[spoiler:Simon, who, instead of trying to fight him, apologizes for all his suffering]].* In Creator/MercedesLackey's novel ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms The Fairy Godmother]]'', Prince Alexander is hunting when he comes across a knight preparing to rape a peasant girl, and the knight offers to share her with Alexander. Alexander is less than pleased. [[spoiler:It's an Elven illusion and the final test of Alexander's redemption.]]* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:** In the ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' novelisation, Count Dooku is revealed to be incapable of comprehending things like joy and friendship, translating them into things like jealousy, pride, spite, and so forth. Kind of a subversion, because Anakin eventually kills him by calling on something he ''does'' understand--''[[TheDarkSide rage]]''.** The Tarkin Doctrine[[note]]In the Legends continuity, Tarkin's line "Fear will keep the local systems in line" is not just a personal opinion but a matter of Imperial policy.[[/note]] is basically the idea that "Fear of force > force itself", but in practice tends to run towards "Fear is the ultimate weapon", as embodied by deliberately oversized ships, especially [[ThatsNoMoon the Death Stars]]. Both sides of this equation fail miserably--the moon-sized Death Stars get blown up by ships less than 35 meters long (an X-wing and the ''Millennium Falcon''), and the main thing about heroism is that it tends to involve courage, the ''refusal to give in to fear''. Essentially, the Tarkin Doctrine is a refusal to understand your opponents turned into a tactical philosophy, with all the success you'd expect.** To rub further salt into the Doctrine's wounds, Tarkin's main attempt to employ it--[[KickTheDog the tactically unnecessary]] [[MoralEventHorizon destruction of Alderaan]]--ended up neatly shooting itself (and by extension, TheEmpire) in the foot by causing Palpatine's approval rating [[ZeroPerCentApprovalRating to slip ever closer to zero]], prompting the mass defection of nearly all of the Empire's Alderaanian officers, and providing massive sympathy for the Rebellion.** Almost all of the weapons created following the Tarkin Doctrine meet the same fate, to the point where its [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Han Solo during the Yuuzan Vong war.** ''Literature/NewJediOrder'': In Yuuzan Vong society, twin siblings always fight each other to the death BecauseDestinySaysSo; seeing ''two'' sets of twins on the opposing side cooperating--Luke with Leia and Jaina with Jacen--seriously confuses them. (Truthfully, [[Literature/LegacyOfTheForce they were right about Jaina and Jacen]], just a couple of decades early.) ** This trope is also essentially what caused Darth Bane's RuleOfTwo to fall apart, culminating in both Vader's redemption and the events after Caedus' death. Darth Bane created it with the full expectation of the Sith Master either killing the Apprentice if the apprentice fails him or does not have any usefulness left, or otherwise the apprentice [[TheStarscream offing his master]] when the opportunity presents itself and/or becoming strong enough to overpower the master. He obviously never anticipated that either of the two would actually redeem themselves to the light side of the Force and either abandon the Sith way or also sacrifice themselves to take down the Sith before they killed their loved ones. He really should have, since the Sith Lord whose holocron inspired him to create the Rule of Two in the first place, Darth Revan, ultimately renounced the Dark Side, and Bane knew this.** In ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', the BigBad ''thinks'' he understands, and at least is aware of them, but he vastly underestimates their power. Throughout the book, he goes on at length about how his particular flavor of TheDarkSide is greater than any other aspect of TheForce. When he puts Leia through a particularly horrible AndIMustScream until her defense breaks, the love she has for Han, even then, ''hurts'' him, and he's unable to get through it. In the final confrontation, a MindScrew-y sequence involving him being the ultimate black hole, he swallows Luke and angrily thinks that if any of the Jedi had ever even glimpsed the truth of the Dark, it would have snuffed their tiny minds like candles in a hurricane----->'''Luke:''' ''Was my tiny mind snuffed? I must have missed that part.''** In ''Literature/StarWarsKenobi'', [[spoiler:Orrin Gault]], an embezzler and perpetrator of a MonsterProtectionRacket who's SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, is repeatedly warned by Ben to "Turn back now," and can't make heads or tails of the instruction, since Ben doesn't make any moves to expose or extort him, or do anything else that would profit from the situation.* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':** Works against the heroes in ''Literature/DeadBeat''. Harry says that [[spoiler:Butters]] doesn't know anything, but then risks his life to save him. Thomas points out that the villain won't believe he would do that out of [[PowerOfFriendship friendship]].** In ''Literature/GravePeril'', however, Harry deduces from the attack on [[spoiler:Charity and the baby]] that the Nightmare is being manipulated, as it is a demon, and demons are absolutely incapable of understanding what things like love even ''are''. [[spoiler: Therefore, there's no way it would know that RevengeByProxy would be what hurt Michael the most.]] Harry turns out to be [[spoiler: RightForTheWrongReasons. Yes, the Nightmare is being manipulated, but it's not the ghost of a demon like Harry expected, but rather the ghost of an EvilSorceror that Harry defeated earlier, who, as a human, could comprehend love. So it's Invoked, but not played straight.]]** Another ''Literature/DeadBeat'' example. [[spoiler: Lasciel's shadow]] simply cannot understand why Harry wouldn't want to be like Nicodemus, and in later books can't get that Harry is quite willing to die rather than pick up her coin- which would turn him into a FallenHero.** In ''Literature/ColdDays'', Mab explains her belief that Harry indoctrinated Molly into serving him: he protected her at great personal risk and indebted her to him by providing help. The reader--having had a close-up view of Harry's motivations--knows that she's wrong: he did the above because he's a good person who didn't want Molly to suffer.** In ''Literature/SkinGame'', [[spoiler: Hannah]]'s prejudice against the White Council (and presumably [[spoiler: Lasciel]]'s manipulation) means that they never gets that Harry's offers of mercy and warnings that they're going down a dark path are genuine, and Harry really sympathizes with them and wants to help. * In ''The First Wives Club'' by Olivia Goldsmith, the Club forms when a mutual friend commits suicide due to her husband Gil leaving her for another woman. They target Gil in particular but each of the various ex-husbands have the problem of not grasping how bad they treated their wives. The ladies end up ruining a major deal Gil set up that cost his partners several hundred million dollars. When a weakened Gil asks why they're doing this, they respond "ask Cynthia" and Gil is honestly baffled what his late ex has to do with this.** Gil had planned to buy up a Japanese company than split it apart and sell it off. The girls informed the owner of this and the man thus refused to sell rather than put all his workers out of jobs. Gil's first reaction is to simply offer more money, not able to grasp someone would put the welfare of their workers over making a profit. * ''Literature/CodexAlera'':** Explicitly pointed out in the second book when the Vord Queen that Amara, Bernard, Doroga, and their forces are fighting ends up caught by surprise and killed because, while she ''technically'' understands the concept of sacrifice, she just can't get ''why'' people would be willing to throw their lives away to prevent her threat to the rest of the world.** In the next book, ''Cursor's Fury'', the principled Amara and the ruthlessly pragmatic Invidia Aquitane are interrogating a captured spy named Rook who is working for the traitorous High Lord Kalarus. Amara manages to figure out the source of Rook's apparent loyalty to him: Kalarus is holding her daughter hostage to ensure compliance. Once Amara realizes this, she does the last thing either Rook or Invidia expects: she offers to rescue Rook's daughter, because it is the right thing to do. Rook immediately breaks down in tears of relief, while Invidia stares at the whole thing, seemingly unable to comprehend what happened because it doesn't fit into her ruthless and calculated mindset.** Used twice in the fourth book, ''Captain's Fury''. High Lord Kalarus is explicitly said to be ignorant of anything that isn't himself, while [[SmugSnake Senator Arnos]] firmly believes that Tavi is an opportunistic politician like himself who only ''pretends'' to be TheGoodCaptain for PR reasons, when Tavi is actually the genuine article.** This is something of a theme in the series. In the final book, the Vord Queen devotes much of her effort to comprehending good (or at least, humanity) but largely fails, possibly because the aforementioned Invidia is her "teacher". [[spoiler: She learns just enough to get a legitimately moving AlasPoorVillain moment at the end, though]].* In Eugene Field's ''Daniel and the Devil'': [[TheFettered ordinary decent businessman Daniel]] simply doesn't see the appeal of a life of fun and debauchery, being a respectable businessman and father of nine. The Devil is so flabbergasted by this that he eventually [[spoiler:breaks his bond with Daniel, effectively releasing him from [[DealWithTheDevil his contract]] AND letting 1001 souls go free from Hell]].* In Dickens' ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'', Uriah Heep hires Mr. Micawber as his clerk, on the assumption that paying off his debts and providing him with financial security will be enough of a vice to stop him protesting against Heep ruining the Wickfields' lives. Actually, Micawber's horrified, and uses his position to recover important documents to bring Heep down. * In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero In Hell]]'', the reason offered for why the devils tried to frame Cornelius instead of one of her other brothers, which Miranda might have believed.* In ''[[Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt Salute the Dark]]'', the Dragonflies are [[IGaveMyWord honor bound]] not to try to reclaim their lands. Stenwold points out that if they gather their armies as if they intended to reclaim them, the Wasps will assume they are not thus bound.* In Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Literature/NightLords novel ''Soul Hunter'', at the end, when [[spoiler:Ruven]] is pondering how to seize power, Talos seizes the chance for {{Revenge}} for his murder--of a [[NiceToTheWaiter mere mortal, Talos's servant]]. To humiliate him, he explicitly says he looks, dying, as that servant's death had looked.** A similar (non-murderous) exchange passes between Talos and Variel. After betraying the Red Corsairs and joining the Night Lords, Talos assumes that Variel does so out of some debt owed him from long ago. When it seems likely that the two of them are going to die in their next mission, Talos offers to 'release' Variel from his debt, to which Variel acts with outrage. It never occurs to Talos, despite all they have been through together, that Variel considers them to be friends and not just an obligation. * ''Literature/InDeath'': This trope is used ''many'' times. Then again, a number of the villains can be placed in the category of TheSociopath. This causes them to make mistakes that lead to getting arrested or killed off.* A protagonist example, Weed from ''Literature/TheLegendaryMoonlightSculptor'' is completely incapable of understanding charity or good will.* The ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' holds that the truth is objective and self-evident and anyone who doesn't understand is selfish, weak, or deluded. Most of the eleven books are spent foiling, saving, or converting those people, respectively.** According to Jagang, Richard is evil because he's evil.** An entire book is spent with Nicci holding Richard captive, trying to understand him.** Dealing with the people of Anderith is somewhere between this and RefugeInAudacity. You just have to act bigger than them, because they just don't understand compassion.** The Hakens are taught that this is true and that they're evil because their ancestors did evil, and that the Anders are good because they were victimized. It mixes with the most horrifying case of mass stockholm syndrome ever on the Hakens' part.** In the finale, Richard decides that this is true of the Imperial Order because they don't want to understand.** Notably averted with Darken Rahl and the Sisters of the Dark. They understand how good people think and plan on it.** Notably averted with the D'Harans, especially the Mord-Sith; it's assumed that this is true, but as Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd get to know some D'Harans and the D'Harans get to know their new Lord Rahl, it turns out that most of the evil of the D'Harans was a reflection of their leader, and that most of them are just people. Not all, though.* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', the villains first try to bribe Freckles to be slack in his watch.* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', Hawkfrost's plan to take over the Clans fails because he literally cannot understand why his brother would rather earn the position of Clan Leader than kill the current leader and take it.* Overseer Biron, a recurring villain in the ''Literature/StarfleetCorpsOfEngineers'' stories, doesn't understand the [[Franchise/StarTrek Federation]] or its Starfleet heroes, in particular their compassion. Why Starfleet officers and captains expend valuable resources helping non-essential crewmen or those of lesser station is beyond his comprehension. Biron is a highly intelligent being, but a product of a brutal and calculating culture that assigns worth to people based only on how productive and useful they are.* In Creator/SarahAHoyt's ''Literature/DarkshipThieves'', Thena's father. When he has captured both Kit and Thena, it does not occur to him that Kit has hostage value until she threatens to kill herself if he harms Kit.* In Creator/SeananMcGuire's OctoberDaye novel ''Ashes Of Honor'', Samson derides Toby as a sentimental fool and sneers at Tybalt for involving himself with someone so weak.* ''Literature/MythAdventures'': It's selfishness rather than evil, but in ''Myth-ing Persons'' Skeeve tries to convince a woman he's attracted to that she doesn't need to stick with her con-artist partner now that he's out of trouble. She has no idea what he means; being in trouble is a reason she'd ''leave'' someone, not a reason she'd stick with them.* Various bad guys in the Literature/HonorHarrington universe consistently don't realize two things about the heroes in the setting: either they assume that good guys won't go out of their way to help others if they don't have to, and when they do act in a benevolent manner the bad guys think that they can be intimidated into backing down. One major part of the backstory in the books set in the Talbott Cluster is based on this misunderstanding. TheConspiracy is trying to make the Manticorans look bad by fermenting rebellions on planets in a FalseFlagOperation pretending to be Manticoran agents and assuring the rebels they'll have backing, setting them up to be crushed and giving the Manticorans a bad reputation. The plan assumes that if the Manticorans find out, they will refuse to get dragged into someone else's problems, especially if it puts them at odds with the Solarians, making their reputation worse. [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight When the Manticorans do intervene]], the local oppressors assume that by threatening to kill their own citizens unless the Manticorans leave will make them back off. Aivars Terekhov corrects this misconception with kinetic weapons strikes.-->'''Terekhov:''' [[GoodIsNotSoft Why is it that people like you always think you're more ruthless than people like me?]]** A lot Manticore's nastier aristocrats (especially [[RoyalBrat Pavel Young]] and [[EvilChancellor Baron high Ridge]]) automatically assume that everyone is as ambitious, petty, greedy and morally bankrupt as they are, and therefore just about anything involving actual honor, loyalty or moral courage tends to [[SpannerInTheWorks trip them up.]] ** In particular, Pavel thinks that Honor and her cronies have some demented vendetta against him, because she successfully hurt him once and enjoyed the feeling. What he can't understand is that ''he's'' the one with a vendetta, and it's so nasty that his destruction becomes a a matter of necessity.* [[OurDemonsAreDifferent The demons]] of ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' are destructive, chaotic beings that don't understand anything except for [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]], [[HorrorHunger hunger]], and desire. The [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon King]] [[TheChessmaster Dahun]] attempts to foster order, love, and loyalty among his followers in order to make them more efficient, but he ultimately fails because, as one character points out, he understood from observing humans that such things were important, but never ''why'' they were important. Child/[[spoiler: Miranda]], a demon with a human soul, ''does'' comprehend good, but is fully aware of her unique nature and the incogruity of a demon being [[spoiler: geniunely in love with the family of the human said soul originally belonged to]], though the end of the last book indicates that [[spoiler: she's going to return to Hell and ram love and empathy down the throats of the rest of her race whether they want it or not]]. * In Creator/PoulAnderson's "Literature/TimeLag", Bors wonders why the people of Vaynamo do not seize the Alfavala land for their own use. (Though he tends more to MoralMyopia and MightMakesRight.)* A gem from ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'': "Mordred and Agravaine thought Arthur hypocritical—-as all decent men must be, if you assume that decency can’t exist."* This is a chronic failing of the villains in Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/{{Empire of the East}}''. The rulers of the eponymous [[TheEmpire Empire]] at one point attempt to bribe [[BigGood Ardneh]] into joining their side, not really understanding that there could be a being who just had no interest in the kind of power that they were offering. That being said, this trope is zig-zagged at least a little, in that at least some of them do get an inkling that Ardneh is just not like them, and has no interest in dominating anyone. They don't really understand him, but they do get that he is different from them.* Half the reason why the BigBad in the Literature/BelisariusSeries has trouble defeating Belisarius: Link can understand self-centered aristocrats just fine, and can handle groups based on statistical analysis, but an individual acting for the good of humanity? Not so much. (The other half is that Logic Cannot Comprehend IndyPloy.)* In ''Literature/{{Horns}}'' [[spoiler: Lee Tourneau]] is utterly confused by a single line in an email from a friend two weeks after his mother's death. The line? ''How are you holding up?'' In fact, he cannot fathom ''[[TheSociopath compassion, selflessness or love.]]''* ''Literature/AgathaHAndTheVoiceOfTheCastle'': Castle Heterodyne, a mad artificial intelligence built by an even madder scientist from a line of mad scientists, all complete raving villains to a man, has no idea why the Heterodyne Boys, the closest thing to a BigGood the setting has, were never impressed despite its many, many attempts to please them. The fact that it killed their mother, a literal saint of a woman, never seems to register with it.* In his [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation far from unbiased]] biography of General Moreau, Frédéric Hulot explains that Napoleon's far-reaching vendetta against Moreau stems from the fact that the selfish and ambitious Corsican could not understand why a man of Moreau's talents and influence would selflessly serve the Republic without seeking political power or personal gain.* AM, the evil A.I. of ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' is programmed unable to feel or create, but it does have creative thoughts of destruction and torture. Which it does, because it can't see humans as anything more than playthings who are utter bastards that deserve the punishments it gives them. This is expanded upon in the video game adaption, see below.* ''Literature/TheSilerianTrilogy'': Kiloran seems genuinely baffled that Baran harbors such a grudge against him over abducting and raping his wife. * In ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'', the Mahrkagir serves an [[GodOfEvil evil]] [[TheAntiGod Anti-God]] but cannot be inducted into his priesthood, because he would be required to sacrifice someone he truly loves, and his [[FreudianExcuse horrific upbringing]] left him incapable of understanding anything but death and suffering.* It's more Bigotry Cannot Understand Good, but none of the citizens in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' can understand why a white man would not only father children with a black woman, but acknowledge them and live with her family. He has to pretend to be a drunk for them to accept it.** There's a straight example in Bob Ewell's response to Atticus's question about what he did when he saw his daughter supposedly having been beaten and raped. He says that there was no reason to call a doctor, as her wounds weren't anything permanent- missing the point that ''she was hurt'', and ''he should have cared about her well being''. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]] * ''Series/GameOfThrones'':** Joffrey seems genuinely baffled but intrigued by Margaery's charity work in "Valar Dohaeris."** Kraznys mo Naklos and his fellow slave masters cannot comprehend that SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil.* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':** ''Hydro'', [[EvilCounterpart Linda]] doesn't understand why [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Chloe]] would not seize the chance to publish [[SecretKeeper all she knew]] about [[{{Franchise/Superman}} Clark Kent]].** ''Sacrifice'', Zod doesn't understand why Oliver doesn't kill him when he has the chance.** [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Tess]] also thought Chloe would leave her to die.** Mentioned in ''Hostage'':--->'''[[spoiler:Martha]]:''' ''[to Tess]'' You can't comprehend what it means to truly protect someone you love.* In the ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror Mirror, Mirror]]", Kirk and friends manage to infiltrate the evil mirror ''Enterprise'' easily, but their mirror counterparts stand out like evil sore thumbs in our universe.-->'''Spock:''' It was far easier for you, as civilized men, to behave like barbarians than it was for them to behave like civilized men.* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': The Borg genuinely cannot understand why other species would rather die than join their "perfect" HiveMind. Depending on your point of view, this may be less an example of flat-out ''evil'' and more of a BlueAndOrangeMorality problem: individuality is such an alien concept to the Borg that they consider it less a valid lifestyle choice and more a mess that needs cleaning up.** The Borg outlook borders on ValuesDissonance, as they see assimilation as a liberating act, and can't comprehend how anyone would reject the Collective. ** Another serious case of in-universe ValuesDissonance occurs when Worf discovers a prison-colony of Klingon warriors who were taken captive by Romulans and forced to adopt Romulan culture rather than their own (even raising their children with such beliefs). To a Klingon, dying honorably in combat is the highest honor one can receive, and being taken prisoner rather than being executed is the [[CruelMercy cruelest mercy]] possible (with being forced to raise children with the beliefs of one's enemy being icing on the cake). To the Romulan who's running the colony, he's sick of all the killing and torment he's spread over decades as a soldier and saw the chance to take these Klingons hostage and give them a second chance as a much better alternative than execution of war prisoners. Neither can understand the other's stance on the matter, but both are disgusted by their enemy's "cruel" outlook on the situation. * As with many crime dramas, ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has killers who never consider how people may react differently than they expect.** In one episode, hacker/killer Pelant gives Hodgins a seemingly SadisticChoice: Shut down a computer server that is draining Hodgins' millions of dollars or keep it running to stop a drone that would blow up a school in the Middle East. Pelant assumes Hodgins will either shut it down or at least waste time trying to TakeAThirdOption, choosing money first and breaking Hodgins' relationship with the rest of the team. It never occurs to him that [[spoiler: Hodgins has always hated being rich and thus has no problem sacrificing his money to save innocent lives.]]* A crucial piece of the plot of the''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' episode "End Game". A disgraced former Army commander is convinced that Clay Porter, the soldier who blew the whistle on him for torturing a man to death, must have the secret he was trying to obtain through said torture, because the only reason he can think of for Porter to turn him in was in order to go after the secret himself. It never occurs to him that Porter was just trying to do the right thing.* ''Series/DoctorWho'':%% ** The end of the special [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]], while the Second, Third and Fifth Doctors are trying to stop [[spoiler:Borusa]] from becoming immortal, the First Doctor helps him achieve his goal, resulting in the villain [[spoiler:turning into stone]].** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons "The Dæmons"]], when Jo Grant [[HeroicSacrifice throws herself in front of the Doctor]], the idea of this actually destroys Azal.** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]], the Cybermen stage an invasion of Earth, and the Cyberleader demands a complete surrender from humanity, telling them that they will be converted into Cybermen and have their emotions, fears, and differences taken away. When humanity forms a resistance and tries to fight off the Cybermen, the cyberleader reacts with confusion; the Doctor informs it that humans aren't going to willingly surrender the very things that make them human.** In the 2005 series, the Tenth Doctor's entire plan for defeating the Master hinges on [[spoiler:making the Master believe that he sent his companion Martha around the globe to collect the pieces of a special gun designed to completely kill a Time Lord, when her actual purpose is something far less simple and violent.]] And, even though the Master had fought the Doctor many times before, it works perfectly.** Inverted in Matt Smith's first finale. The Dalek presumes that since the River Song is an associate of the Doctor, she won't shoot it while it's vulnerable.--->'''River:''' I'm Doctor River Song. Check your records.\\'''Dalek:''' [[AC:Mercy?]]\\'''River:''' Say it again.\\'''Dalek:''' [[AC:Mercy!?]]\\'''River:''' One more time.\\'''Dalek:''' [[AC:[[HilarityEnsues MERCYYYY!!!]]]]** Played straight in the Daleks' previous appearance that season. They have given a robot the memories of a real human, to use as an infiltrator, and reveal that said robot is actually a bomb capable of destroying the world. They activate him, knowing the Doctor will let them flee to go save the earth. The Doctor tries to disarm the robot by reminding him of his human emotions--feelings of loss, pain and misery. Unfortunately the Daleks are perfectly familiar with this kind of emotion and it doesn't work. Amy however reminds him of love, something Daleks could never comprehend. The robot's essential humanity asserts itself and the bomb is disarmed.** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E2DinosaursOnASpaceship "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"]], the Doctor finds an ark containing the last of the dinosaurs that survived the cataclysm that wiped them out 65 million years earlier, and Solomon, a BountyHunter [[OnlyInItForTheMoney intent on selling the dinosaurs to the highest bidder]]. When Solomon assumes that the Doctor's interest in the dinosaurs is purely financial, like his, the Doctor berates him for assuming that everyone in the universe shares his values.** The Doctor ends up in a MexicanStandoff with the Daleks in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks "Destiny of the Daleks"]]: he is threatening to destroy [[spoiler:Davros]] with a bomb unless they let him leave with his captive, but the Daleks respond by bringing in several human captives and exterminating them one by one until the Doctor surrenders. He threatens to set off the bomb right on the spot, but the Daleks argue that such an action would be irrational and impossible because it would kill the Doctor as well. [[spoiler:Davros]] tells them that the Doctor is actually willing to do just that since "his logic is impaired by irrational sentiment".* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':** John Crichton was this in several episodes involving alien mind control and/or drugs. Part of it is an acquired immunity; since it happens to him so often he's quick to SpotTheThread. He's also of highly questionable sanity at the best of times, for more or less the same reason.** [[NotSoImaginaryFriend Harvey]], being a mental clone of Scorpius, is particularly confused when Crichton chooses love over revenge--he wasn't programmed to consider any opinion but those of Scorpius worthwhile.** Averted in the case of the ''real'' Scorpius, who correctly guessed that Crichton would trade his wormhole knowledge for Aeryn's safety, and quietly [[TheChessmaster engineered a situation in which his help would be required to rescue Aeryn.]] Even Crichton was impressed--and more than a little bit embarrassed, since he'd claimed that Scorpius didn't understand him two episodes ago:--->'''Crichton:''' [[MagnificentBastard Son of a bitch deserves an Emmy...]]* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':-->'''Angel:''' People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do.\\'''Hamilton:''' Yeah, but we ''[[ShutUpKirk won't care]]''.** This is also the reason that the Circle of the Black Thorn [[spoiler:make Angel sign away his role in the Shanshu Prophecy after he joins them, in an effort to prevent him betraying them for his divine reward.]] It never occurs to them that he would do good without the prospect of a divine reward, and that brings about their downfall.** Angelus is completely unable to understand why Angel does what he does or the "human condition," firmly believing that humans only exist to suffer and die.* In one episode of ''Series/{{Columbo}}'', he explains that because the killer has no conscience, she was incapable of thinking her stepdaughter would demand money as a way to expose her as the murderer rather than for the selfish reasons her stepdaughter presented.* Happens sometimes with the villains in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': ** Itassis in ''[[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Mystic Force]]'', for example, cannot comprehend how the courage of the Rangers are able to help them defeat her fellow Terrors, despite the latter being physically stronger than the former. But in a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion, she actually ''betrays'' her people in order to ''learn'' how, being a Terror focusing more on knowledge than power.** Lord Zedd devises a plan to break up the team by capturing Kimberly and a civilian in Aisha's presence so quickly that Aisha can't do anything about it. His hope: That when the other rangers find out she did nothing will rebuke her for it and the infighting will commence. Instead they just work together to try to save them. This actually shocks Zedd.* As well as in its parent franchise ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':** Perhaps the most notable example is Enter in the last arc of [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGoBusters Go-Busters]], whose immortality is assured by the backup of himself kept inside Hiromu. His plan is essentially flawless, the only mistake he ever makes being that he can't comprehend the idea that someone would willingly sacrifice their life for someone else.* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': ** ''Children of Earth'', this is the attitude of the 456. Since humanity was [[spoiler:willing to trade 12 orphans to prevent a viral pandemic]] in 1965, the aliens believe that Earth will give up [[spoiler: ''millions'' of children]] the second time around, even after the authorities learn it would doom them to a FateWorseThanDeath. When Jack Harkness claims that most of humanity would risk genocide rather than accede to the 456's demands, the aliens flat out refuse to believe him.** [[spoiler:And just to prove how much DarkerAndEdgier ''Torchwood'' is, the 456 are largely ''right''. Most humans really ''are'' pragmatic enough that they're willing to sacrifice millions of children for their own safety (at least as long as it's not ''their'' children on the line). Even Jack ends up explicitly breaking his own "an injury to one is an injury to all" ideal when he manages to defeat the 456--[[PoweredByAForsakenChild by the sacrifice of a single child]].]]** [[spoiler: In a parallel plotline, the PM seems to think that Frobisher will be able to sacrifice his own daughters. Frobisher isn't and does indeed commit his own private genocide.]]* One of Cavil's major miscalculations in ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' was the naive assumption that just living as humans would convince the Final Five Cylons that human life was crap. He didn't even bother to give them abusive parents in their fabricated backstories. Compounded by his inability to comprehend that killing off people would cause the Final Five to mourn them, not stop loving them.* In one episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Barney details the aftermath of his hooking up with Wendy, the waitress at [[LocalHangout McLaren's]] (the main cast's favorite bar). It ends badly when notorious-womanizer Barney can't pick up women in [=McLaren=]'s without Wendy's disapproval. Wendy eventually recognizes that their hookup and quasi-attachment was a bad idea and lets Barney have his bimbos back, but Barney continues to throw out every drink she serves him because he can't comprehend that she isn't plotting some kind of revenge.* ''Series/{{Lost}}'', "Everybody Loves Hugo":-->'''[[spoiler:The Smoke Monster]]:''' ''Why aren't you afraid?''\\'''Desmond:''' What is the point of being afraid?\\[[spoiler:''[The Smoke Monster hesitates, then throws Desmond down the well]'']]* ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'':** Inverted in the first episode, Tom Jackman is very careful to keep Hyde from discovering that he has a wife and children; when Hyde actually finds out and pays a visit to the Jackman household, Tom fears the worst... only to find that [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu Hyde has spent a happy evening playing with the kids and chatting with his wife, Claire.]]** And ''again,'' in the third episode: when Tom wakes up one morning, soaked in blood, with a few hazy memories of meeting Claire the previous evening, he assumes that Hyde has murdered her: in fact, Hyde got soaked with blood while cutting [[SmugSnake Benjamin Lennox's]] throat--[[WhatAnIdiot after he threatened Claire and her children.]]** Jekyll's a subversion of this in general, since in the end it turns out that the source of Jackman's transformations isn't malice, it's a profound sense of true love and the need to be loved in return. Hyde's sadism is destructive because it's undirected until he knows that he has a wife and children to protect.* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Zoe's Reprise," the [=UnSub=] says that he is a big fan of Rossi's books, but doesn't understand what he means when Rossi says that he fundamentally doesn't understand why people choose to kill. The [=UnSub=] states that the urge to kill is normal for him; he doesn't understand why everyone else doesn't have that urge.* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':** Season 4 episode "Who are you?", Faith has taken over Buffy's body and experiments by trying to live Buffy's life. She gets very confused and rather upset when people are nice to her. Especially Riley. It seems that "emotionally intimate and loving" is the only way Faith ''hasn't'' had sex yet.** In Season 4's "The Yoko Factor", Spike shows that he knows what ThePowerOfFriendship ''is'' ..., but also shows that he doesn't understand it yet. He identifies Buffy's friends as strong assets ... but is absurdly confident that ''he of all people'' can cause a permanent falling out between Buffy and the Scoobies on the eve before their big fight with [[BigBad Adam]]. Spike's sowing of discord causes a semi-dramatic quarrel that angers the Scoobies for all of a half episode. Then they rally about, and unleash epic ass-kicking. Friends fight, but friends apologize and make up too. Adam, being evil, is also waayyyy too eager to imagine that a squabble will be enough to cause a serious rift between the Slayer and her friends.** In Season 6 "Dead Things" Buffy thinks she's accidentally killed an innocent bystander. Spike wants to dispose of the evidence and sweep the matter under the rug, and can't understand why Buffy wants to turn herself into the police.--->'''Spike:''' Why are you doing this to yourself?\\'''Buffy:''' ''[tearful]'' A girl is dead because of me.\\'''Spike:''' And how many people are alive because of you? How many have you saved? One dead girl doesn't tip the scale.\\'''Buffy:''' That's all it is to you, isn't it? Just another body! You can't understand why this is killing me, can you?** This becomes inverted when Spike says that he won't let Buffy turn herself in because he loves her. Buffy responds by savagely beating Spike, [[RageAgainstTheReflection implying that she's the evil thing]] who can't comprehend Spike's selfless actions.** Much earlier, The Master waffles with this trope. In the Pilot, The Master understands a heroic slayer well enough to know she'll risk life and limb to save Jesse, and baits his first trap for her accordingly. Twelve episodes later, the Master never pauses to consider that the Slayer herself has her own friends who will risk life and limb for her... and is blindsided accordingly. In his defense, he though he'd already finished her off.*** It also has to mentioned that the Council thought similarly. It's been mentioned several times that Buffy is the only Slayer in recorded history to survive longer than a few years, and it can only be attributed to her friends and allies. Seen in a certain light, it might not be that evil can't comprehend a Slayer having people willing to risk their lives but that evil not expecting something that has never happened before.* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': When Captain Mal catches up to [[spoiler: Saffron]], she claims that the reason she plays mind games and acts like a manipulative, murderous FemmeFatale is because, she believes, that's just how people are. Mal begs to differ.-->'''[[spoiler:Saffron]]:''' Everybody plays each other. That's all anybody ever does. We play parts.\\'''Mal:''' You got all kinds a learnin’ and you made me look the fool without even trying, and yet here I am with a gun to your head. That’s 'cause I've got people with me, people who trust each other, who do for each other, and ain't always looking for the advantage.* A key character trait of [[Series/{{House}} Dr. House]] is his unshakable belief that people only do good things for selfish reasons. He even states that people who value others' lives more than their own are [[GoodIsDumb idiots]] who should just kill themselves to free up their organs. Which doesn't stop him from risking his life to save Wilson's girlfriend Amber. [[spoiler: He fails.]]* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', the BigBad of season 3 is this. He genuinely cannot understand why the protagonists are targeting him. He fails to realize that it might just be because he deserves it.** More generally many of their targets are this way in that they can't realize why anyone would go to that much trouble. ** The first season finale has the team going after Blackthorne, the CEO of the insurance company who refused to help Nate treat his dying son to a possible cure because it wasn't "cost-effective." It's one thing for Blackthorne to be amazed Nate is going to such lengths to go after him. It's another that he appears honestly shocked that Nate's ex-wife Maggie (the boy's ''mother'') can't accept this was just a business decision. He really goes to her to ask for help only for her to punch him in the face and Blackthorne acts like ''he's'' the one betrayed.* On ''Series/BurnNotice'' [[TheCorrupter Larry]] has this probem with Michael in that he can't realize [[MoralityPet why]] Michael won't be more like him and enjoy his work as a PsychoForHire.* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' ** When Cole is possessed by the Source, the rest of the demons assume he is only keeping Phoebe around because he needs someone to give birth to his son and that he only wants an heir. His secretary Julie suggests casting a spell to allow her to carry Phoebe's baby and says he would be free to rule without her love holding him back. She and the others don't seem to realise that Cole ''loves'' Phoebe and that he doesn't just want to have an heir, he's excited about being a father. Unfortunately for them, the Seer can comprehend good and uses this to her advantage.** The Seer in season 7 (played by Charisma Carpenter) is a Demon and therefore can't feel human emotion. But she knows of it through her visions--which is why she strikes a deal with the sisters to become human. This trope is arguably inverted as the sisters initially wonder why a Demon would willingly give up their powers for the things they themselves take for granted.** The Triad are wise enough with this trope to appoint Cole as the one to take out the sisters in the first place. As he's half human, he would be able to blend in better and pass for human long enough to gain their trust. They then veer into GenreBlind in the same way, not anticipating that he might actually fall in love with Phoebe and be prompted to protect her instead.** When The Triad return in Season 8, they appear to have learned from this mistake. They become aware that Christy's love for her parents could bring about a HeelFaceTurn for her--so they have them killed. They guess (correctly!) that eliminating Christy's one MoralityPet will unite her and Billie together to turn on the sisters.* In ''Series/ChinesePaladin'', villain [[KnightTemplar Bai]] [[DarkMessiah Yue]] cannot for the life of him comprehend what love is, or why [[ThePowerOfLove the heroes keep surviving his death traps because of it]].* On ''Series/BabylonFive'' the Shadows brought Sheridan to Z'Ha'Dum figuring they could convert him, either willingly or forcibly. It never occurred to them until it was too late that he might [[spoiler: crash a ship loaded with nuclear bombs into the city he was currently inside]] just to slow or stop them.* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': ** Regina, [[Literature/SnowWhite The Evil Queen]], seems incapable of understanding good, like how Snow White's childhood mistake (that resulted in the death of Regina's lover) was not meant maliciously and how she honestly thought that [[TheChosenOne Emma]] would leave her to die in a fire. This and her GenreBlindness are why she doesn't understand how her power in Storybrooke is weakening, nor why Gold (Rumplestiltskin), who seems to understand good quite well, is rather confident that Emma will break the [[IdentityAmnesia curse]] on the town.** Regina's mother, [[EvilMatriarch Cora]], also fails to grasp goodness. She firmly believes that love is weakness, and when she tries to steal Snow's heart, Emma jumped in front of her to save her, and Cora couldn't rip out Emma's heart because Emma's (untrained) magic, based on love, is far stronger.** Hook doesn't understand why [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Belle]] won't help him kill [[MagnificentBastard Rumplestiltskin]]* On the [[Characters/SurvivorSamoa Samoa]] and [[Characters/SurvivorHeroesVsVillains Heroes vs. Villains]] seasons of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', this was a huge source of contention for fans of Russell Hantz. The comments on [[http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=8dcEdJ3jAik these Youtube boards,]] [[http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=ylGU1DZMHRQ by a user named Joel Lefevre,]] self-demonstrate this trope nicely.* ''Series/{{Monty Python|s Flying Circus}}'s'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVRQK58jrbw merchant banker sketch]] involves a banker who is utterly unable to grasp the concept of charity.* ''Series/TheShield'': [[spoiler:In the GrandFinale, Vic's plan to make himself into a KarmaHoudini ends up instead turning into an IronicHell, in part, because he honestly doesn't seem to have considered that his new bosses with a federal law enforcement agency might not want a confessed liar, thief, extortionist, drug dealer, torturer, and cop killer in anything close to a position of authority, even if they are contractually obligated to give him a paycheck.]]* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', "Warriors of Kudlak": Mistress is incapable of understanding why peace is worthwhile or desirable to anyone, seeing it only as an end to the usefulness of soldiers and generals. [[spoiler: She's a computer created by a race that was caught in a war they never expected to end--she was never programmed with any understanding of peace, and actively covered up that the Uvodni--the race that created her--had been at peace for ''ten years'' by the time of the serial. The eponymous Kudlak--an AntiVillain who does not share her outlook at all--is ''pissed'' when he finds out.]]* In the second series of the British version of ''[[Series/HouseOfCardsUK House Of Cards]]'', the VillainProtagonist, Prime Minister Francis Urquhart, simply cannot understand why the King of England repeatedly speaks out against his government's cruel social policies when none of these policies have affected the King directly. When the King personally explains his reasons to Urquhart, namely that he wants to see all of his subjects prosper and be happy, Urquhart laughs off the notion and simply believes the King is attempting to make a power play.* ''Series/TheFlash2014'':** Captain Cold thinks Flash became a superhero for the adrenaline rush, which is the reason why he became a criminal.** Hunter Zolomon/Zoom kidnapped Caitlin, convinced he loves her and can get her to love him again through StockholmSyndrome. He doesn't understand that she fell in love with [[spoiler:Jay Garrick]], a good man with a heroic drive, not a SerialKiller.** Zoom is also convinced Barry is a hero so he can feel clean and that it's all an act. Because Zoom spent so long [[spoiler:pretending to be Jay Garrick]], he's convinced Barry finds it exhausting, not realizing Barry is a hero because he loves helping people.* Several examples from ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}''** Like Lex Luthor, Maxwell Lord has a hard time accepting Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} is sincere in wanting to help people and not having an ulterior motive of some sort. His attempts to prove she's not a true hero involve exposing Kara to Red Kryptonite which ironically turns her into the very menace Max feared.*** In the season finale, Max is baffled by Kara's refusal to accept the "acceptable losses" of a few thousand people to save the entire planet. ** Astra and Non cannot understand why Kara feels so much closer to the people of this "primitive" planet that she grew up on rather than the race she long considered dead.** When he engages his ultimate plan to take over the minds of everyone on Earth, Non makes it clear he truly believes he's doing humanity a favor by "freeing" them of such distractions as emotions and individuality so they can focus on the problems of Earth. Kara, Cat and even Max all argue that saving the planet means nothing if the people aren't free to enjoy it but Non doesn't grasp what he's doing is wrong. ** James Harper is convinced J'onn J'onzz must be playing a "long game" to conquer Earth as there's no other reason for an alien with shapeshifting and telepathic powers to pretend to be a normal human and help another planet. ** Siobhan Smythe assumes that being as successful as Cat Grant means being an AlphaBitch who takes shortcuts and manipulates those around her. Siobhan never quite gets that Cat got where she was through hard work and holding to a code of ethics. *** When Cat is unsure of publishing a story of Supergirl going rogue, Siobhan tries to sell it to the ''Daily Planet'', assuming they'll jump at the chance to out-scoop a rival. It never occurs to Siobhan that Perry White would have the integrity to call up Cat and tell her about the offer first. ** Lillian Luthor actually seems surprised that after treating daughter Lena as garbage all her life, Lena would refuse to have any loyalty to the Luthor name. ** While they may not be purely evil, Mon-El's parents, Lar and Rhea, are shown to truly not understand how it was wrong that in their rule of Daxam, they basically kept the populace enslaved and lived the high life on the backs of the poor. When Mon-El (who's changed his attitude due to living on Earth) refuses to go back and rebuild it, his parents are baffled as to why he thinks the old Daxam was so wrong. ** Off of that, Rhea believes that by killing Kara, Mon-El will just naturally come back to Daxam...ignoring the tiny fact that she'd have ''murdered his girlfriend.'' Lar finally understands Mon-El wants to stay and lets his son choose his path, telling his wife they need to let him grow and live his own life. Rhea's response is to murder her husband and continue to "save" Daxam. * In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', this is ultimately averted with the demons. As we learn a few seasons in, this is because [[spoiler:they were all human before being [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured for centuries in Hell]]]]. Ironically, this is ultimately played straight starting about the same time we learn that secret, with [[spoiler:Heaven's angels. They're all dicks and, having never been human, can't understand humans]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]* Wrestling/EddieKingston's 2007 and 2008 was spent beating up and destroying most of the young technicos on the Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} roster, breaking Shane Storm's nose twice, bruising everyone from Tim Donst to Soldier Ant. Along comes Lince Dorado, who was beginning to become TheScrappy and is getting roundly booed by every crowd. Eddie continues the beatings on Lince, who continues to get up and keep asking for more. Kingston announces that he will never again wrestle Lince, because his tenuous grip on sanity gets confused every time Lince gets up for the people that boo him.* Ever since Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr's 2011 HeelFaceTurn (which is basically him being more friendly and no longer acting like a RichBitch), heels like Wrestling/MichaelCole and [[Characters/WWEInc Jinder Mahal]] have expressed confusion over why he would do this.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':** The {{sourcebook}} ''The Book of Vile Darkness'' introduced the Vashar, a subrace of coldly evil humans. The Vashar are said to literally be unable to comprehend "positive" emotions, to the point that most of them wouldn't think to use a hostage as leverage, because they don't consider that the victim's friends would care about them.** Likewise, one ''D&D'' book provided [=DMs=] with the advice that a mind flayer sorcerer might be able to predict any action the heroes would take, but couldn't see that they'd be willing to perform almost certain suicide to prevent him because he doesn't care enough about anything to risk his life. Mind flayers, like the Vashar, are said to be unable experience any emotion more positive than a sort of satisfaction during feeding. This trait is even self-perpetuating; mind flayers don't learn emotion from each other, but from resonance stones, psionic deelies that emanate a specific emotion. Because the mind flayers building these can't feel love or joy, they can't build stones that project love or joy, and as such the next generation of hideous tentacle-faced monsters won't understand love and joy either.* In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'', [[TheFairFolk the True Fae]] are utterly unable to understand human motives and rationale. This isn't just a weakness, it's a ''defining trait''--if one ''does'' start to understand a human's viewpoint, they lose most of their powers in the process, and in some cases lose their memories of their true nature outright.** This trait is potent enough that Changelings base their own government around it. The governing of their territories is routinely passed between Courts because the Fae simply ''cannot'' comprehend the idea of mutual cooperation and the willing sharing of power, which aids in concealing Changelings from the Fae.* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':** The Deathlords have this as one of the only weaknesses in their [[TheChessmaster strategic genius]]. As the Abyssals splatbook puts it:---> Deathlords are notoriously selfish beings, almost incapable of truly understanding others. They might, for instance, do nothing more than ascribe their own thought processes to their enemies. ("Of course you returned to rescue your sister. Doing otherwise would suggest weakness in the face of your enemies!")** And then there's the Ebon Dragon. The Ebon Dragon is ''bastardry incarnate''. ''Everything'' it does is centered around the idea of dicking someone else over. How bad is he? He had to create [[BigGood the Unconquered Sun]] just so he'd have a concept of what he was ''supposed'' to oppose. What's more, he's explicitly incapable of comprehending the motivations behind any kind of heroism save by dismissing it as abject insanity on the part of the hero. This doesn't prevent him from preying on the "crazy heroes", because he doesn't need to understand their motivations in order to identify and manipulate their desires.** The Yozis are pretty nasty individuals and have trouble understanding that anything can operate by different rules. Their leader Malfeas has to suffer a genuine psychic fracture to understand that another being's viewpoint matters ''at all'', and all the others are similarly limited. The Ebon Dragon knows that beings can feel positive emotions, but he doesn't understand them. He ''can't'' understand them. He will assume in any given situation that people are trying to dick everyone else over, because, well, that's what he'd do. This is simply how they work.* Most of humanity in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe just want to live their lives free of war. [[OurOrcsAreDifferent The Orks]], [[AxCrazy on the other hand]], find war to be not only a bloody good time, but the only endeavor worthy of their time. To an Ork, peace is as horrible a concept as war can be to a human being. This also extends to cultural aspects, orks are naturally bald and use furry biting 'air-squigs as hair implants and use their teeth as currency, not understanding why no other species in the galaxy ever accepts these two bartering items. And since to orks, the leaders grow bigger because he's in charge and vice-versa, so it took them a while to realize the highest-ranked Imperial is not the tallest but the one with the fanciest hat and BlingOfWar. * While ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' avoids identifying any color wholly with good or evil, White and Black both appear to have this dynamic with each other when the designers write articles describing their perspective as though they were people. Black justifies its selfish amorality by claiming [[AtLeastIAdmitIt everyone else is just as selfish and amoral as it is]] and hates White for being a hypocrite (and admittedly also for White's dedication to Black's complete annihilation). White, on the other hand, believes that the morality it subscribes to is the basic nature of life and shared by the other colors despite their actions; in White's view, Black knows right from wrong in the exact same way White does and ''deliberately chooses'' to do wrong, making it irrevocably evil. Perhaps fittingly for their names, Black and White are the colors least capable of understanding others could ''possibly'' view the universe differently than they do. Things get interesting when [[YinYangBomb White and Black are mixed.]]* Demons and devils in ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' do not possess any of the SevenHeavenlyVirtues and have to strain themselves even to imitate them briefly. This often takes them into VillainBall territory: lacking Faith or Charity prevents them from cooperating even towards common goals, lacking Hope and Prudence undermines their long-term planning, and lacking Justice makes them relatively easy to lie to.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]* In Arthur Miller's play, ''The Pussycat and the Expert Plumber who Was a Man'', a talking cat starts climbing the political ladder under the alias Tom Thomas, by blackmailing anyone who could expose him. In the end, his gubernatorial campaign is thwarted by an expert plumber (who is a man), who [[HonorBeforeReason doesn't care what secrets (real or fabricated) might be exposed about him, so long as people realize they've been voting for a cat]]. The cat is one of the few examples to actually realize he misjudged humanity (well, a few of them, anyway).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'': While more of a [[TheHedonist hedonistic]] BloodKnight than actually evil, Augus, as shown in a flashback, can't seem to understand that Asura fights to protect his family; as far as he's concerned, the ''only'' reason to fight is for the sake of fighting.* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':** This constitutes the core of The Riddler's beliefs as evidenced in ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', with regards to Batman. To wit: he believes Batman is a VillainWithGoodPublicity bribing the Gotham Police Department and stealing money from the crooks he captures, because "no one's that selfless."** Likewise, in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', the Joker is completely baffled over why Batman chose to [[SaveTheVillain save him]] from falling to his death. The [=GCPD=] are also confused, deciding that the only reason Batman would "jump off a building to save the Joker's sorry ass" is that they must be partners.** The Joker does end up coming to this understanding at the end of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' when the bottle of serum needed to save Joker's life gets smashed on the floor. Batman gives him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.---> '''Joker:''' Quick, the cure! What are you waiting for? Come on! I killed your girlfriend, poisoned Gotham, and hell... it's not even breakfast. But so what? We all know you'll save me.\\'''Batman:''' ''[pondering whether or not to give the cure to the Joker, after drinking some of it]'' Every decision you've ever made ends with death and misery. People die. I stop you. You'll just break out and do it again.\\'''Joker:''' ''[laughs at the absurdity of cat and mouse]'' Think of it as a running gag!\\''[the Joker leaps out and stabs Batman in the shoulder, causing him to drop the vial containing the cure, shattering it]''\\'''Joker:''' No!\\''[Batman pulls out the knife while the Joker drops to the floor and begins desperately trying to grab some of the cure]''\\'''Joker:''' Are you happy now?\\'''Batman:''' You want to know something funny? Even after everything you've done, I would have saved you.\\'''Joker:''' ''[laughs, coughs]'' That actually is... pretty funny... ''[starts laughing and coughing, then gasping for air and finally dies, smiling]''do!

!!Wanna bet?* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''** An [[InGamenovel in-game book]] found throughout the series contains an interview with a Dremora, a type of [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lesser Daedra]], which reveals their view of the mortal races. Daedra, being immortal, are unable to comprehend why mortals EvilCannotComprehendGood/AnimeAndManga* EvilCannotComprehendGood/ComicBooks* EvilCannotComprehendGood/FanWorks* EvilCannotComprehendGood/Film* EvilCannotComprehendGood/ProfessionalWrestling* EvilCannotComprehendGood/Theatre* EvilCannotComprehendGood/VideoGames* EvilCannotComprehendGood/VisualNovels* EvilCannotComprehendGood/WebComics* EvilCannotComprehendGood/WebOriginal* EvilCannotComprehendGood/WesternAnimation

----

''Wait, what do not succumb to despair in spite of the knowledge that their own existence is finite.** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', [[PhysicalGod Tribunal deity]] Vivec's BatmanGambit to defeat [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] banks on this. Dagoth Ur believes that [[PlayerCharacter the Nerevarine]], who possesses each of the [[ArtifactOfDoom Tools of Kagrenac]], has brought you mean you spread them to draw power from the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]], the source of Dagoth Ur (and the Tribunal's) divine power, to make his/herself immortal as well. Thus, he spends much of the fight [[AGodAmI toying with]] the Nevevarine and [[IShallTauntYou taunting him/her]] about his own power. He doesn't realize until it's too late the the Nerevarine actually intends to destroy the enchantments on the Heart, denying it's power to ''anyone''. ([[NoImmortalInertia Power that Dagoth Ur requires to exist]].)* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'':** Shepard usually wins for two reasons: first, the [[EldritchAbomination Reapers]] underestimate just how though they and the rest of the team is, but second and more importantly because they can't comprehend the fact that Shepard is willing to throw themself into almost certain death for the sake of others.** If playing Shepard as a paragon, the Illusive Man makes a similar mistake [[spoiler: by not having any backup plan to seize the Collector base when Shepard decides to blow it]] other than relying on Miranda (and possibly the rest of the Cerberus personnel on the ''Normandy'') to get it for him. Of course, he hadn't even known their base ''was'' a space station until Shepard landed on the damn thing.** The Reapers also fail to predict that the Protheans might choose to sabotage their ''next'' attack rather than fighting to the last man to survive the ''current'' one, and their efforts to keep an alliance from happening in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' by pressing on the borders of all the major species run into trouble when the various races ultimately prove willing to support the overall plan rather than protect their own borders at the expense of everyone else. Then comes the Miracle at Palaven, when they don't predict commandoes willingly accepting their own deaths rather than risking indoctrination while placing nuclear weapons inside their carapaces. Really, the most common cause of Reaper defeat and inconvenience is that they assume everyone else is as devoted to self-preservation as they are and thus get dragged down by a HeroicSacrifice.* In ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburV'', Final Boss [[LightisNotGood Elysium]], the soul of [[UnholyHolySword Soul Calibur]] cannot understand why anti-hero turned [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome true hero]] Patroklos refuses to kill his sister Pyrrha even though she's become a [[DemonicPossession Malfested]]. After she is slain in the final battle, her last words are "I don't understand."* [[BlackMagicianGirl Morrigan]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is quite confused by her feelings of attachment to the Warden, though she eventually does grow to [[HeelFaceTurn accept]] [[DefrostingIceQueen them]]. She also tends to be confused by any action that doesn't involve being an utter asshole due to being raised with a StupidEvil mentality by a HumanoidAbomination.* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', when Galuf's BerserkButton gets pressed and he charges Exdeath in one-on-one battle, the villain comments that "not even all the hatred in the world can destroy me!" Sure enough, Exdeath gets his ass beaten because it wasn't hate, but [[ThePowerOfLove something else entirely]] that made Galuf fight on ''while at zero hit points''.* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Kefka, upon gaining godhood, believed that [[StrawNihilist living life and creating things is pointless due to the fact that they die anyways and that creation is inevitably destroyed anyways and meaning nothing in the end, as well as being baffled as to why they continue doing these]]. Terra, as well as the rest of the Returners, cite how, despite living in the crapsack state that their world is in, still celebrated the event of living, as well as love, even citing their experiences. Predictably, Kefka does not take it well, declares their references "sound like pages from a self help book" in disgust and then preparing to destroy all reality. At this point, Kefka [[spoiler:[[AGodAmI has become a veritable god]], and so it is likely that he actually knows these things to be true (at least in this setting) rather than it simply being his philosophy. The heroes' pleas fail to convince Kefka otherwise, primarily because little if any of what they say actually applies to him (he has no friends or family, so that takes care of about half of it right there). From his point of view his goal is ([[OmnicidalManiac ironically]]) fairly logical.]]* ''VideoGame/EarthBound:'' Giygas [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm cannot grasp the true form]] of human emotion.* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero:'' Dr. Weil's many {{Breaking Speech}}es failed because Zero is a PunchClockHero.* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'':** Completely inverted with Sargeras, the creator and leader of the Burning Legion. Originally belonging to a race of god-like beings called the Titans, he and his kind traveled throughout the cosmos to bring order to worlds; they were so powerful they defeated the Old Gods, the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s of Azeroth, and created the dragons to become the world's stewards. While defeating and imprisoning the demons of the Twisting Nether, their evil caused Sargeras to question the Titans' quest for order. He was driven into depression after witnessing the chaos wrought by the demons, especially after defeating the vampiric Nathrezim, whose manipulative bastardy on various worlds affected him deeply. Eventually, he went completely off the rails with the belief that the Titans' quest for order was essentially ''wrong'', given that he saw the Universe as intrinsically chaotic and evil. The last the Titans saw him, Sargeras had freed the demons he had personally previously imprisoned, made them a part of his army, and sent his Burning Legion to bring war upon the Universe, putting into action the corruption of the Draenei and Orcs, the birth of the Lich King, and the across multiple near-destruction of Azeroth itself. An example of GoodCannotComprehendEvil taken to epic proportions.** Then again, the Legion itself seems time and time again to be unable to comprehend mortal beings. They never seem to consider the possibility of mortals putting aside their hatreds for each other to fight the Legion, nor did they predict that the Lich King would turn against them instead of submitting to his new position as a tool of the Legion (essentially, a lesser being defying them).*** Played with by the Nathrezim, who are cunning enough to wage warfare at a distance, stoking up conflict between factions to distract them from the real threat, and manipulate useful pawns to enact their will with plausible deniability. This does not stop them from making slip-ups of this variety on occasion. One happens when their leader, Mal'Ganis, assumes [[EvilPrince Evil Prince-in-training]] Arthas won't exact revenge on him for leading the destruction of Arthas' homeland of Lordaeron and forcing him into a SadisticChoice at the town of Stratholme, since Arthas' soul was just consumed by his new weapon, Frostmourne. But having no soul does not prevent Arthas from enacting his revenge upon his opponent. At all. ** A particularly famous example occurs when Grom Hellscream stands against Mannoroth, the demon whose blood he drank on two separate occasions, setting the stage for his clan--and separately, his race--to become thralls of Mannoroth's demon masters. After swatting aside Grom's brother-in-arms Thrall, Mannoroth boasts about the part he played in Grom's corruption and mockingly declares they are the same. (Mannoroth was a tyrannical ruler of his race who willing joined the Legion and served as a frontline commander during the War Of The Ancients.) In a dramatic moment equal parts BigNo and ShutUpHannibal, [[HeroicSacrifice Grom buries his axe deep into Mannoroth's chest at the cost of his own life]], a clear statement that they are not.* ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'':** Should the player character decide to take the good ending, [[spoiler:Fontaine rants about how he created Jack, made up his memories and stuffed them into his brain, showed him the world, brought him back to Rapture--"If that's not family, I don't what is!"--shortly]] before the Little Sisters appear and demonstrate what family ''really'' means. With needles.** A milder example occurs with Andrew Ryan, who seems to be incapable of understanding selflessness or even believing that it truly exists. "In the end, all that matters to you is you, and all that matters to me is me. It is the nature of things." He says this regardless of whether you've made selfish decisions up to this point or not. Tellingly, Ryan also admits that he cannot 'raise a hand' against his own flesh and blood, further playing into the hypocrisy of his own belief system.** Dr. Yi Suchong. In Literature/BioShockRapture, he utterly fails to recognize Tenenbaum's HeelFaceTurn. In contrast, Ryan and Fontaine are at least able to understand Tenenbaum's change of conscience.* While subtitled, ''Videogame/SpyroTheDragon'''s Malefor is clearly caught off guard when [[spoiler: Cynder is freed from his mind control by the PowerOfLove]]. In the entire battle, this is about the only thing that actually seems to truly surprise him.* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'': The entire reason for the Peace Walker project is because [[BigBad Hot Coldman]] genuinely believed that humans were too weak-willed to actually retaliate against a nuclear strike even to save their own lives, going so far as to have Peace Walker transmit false data to NORAD in order to force the military to decide whether or not to retaliate. Posthumously, Coldman is proven wrong when the military actually ''does'' try to order a retaliatory strike, and are only prevented from doing so [[spoiler: when Peace Walker drowns itself in Lake Nicaragua to stop the data transmission]]. Venom Snake even lampshades this on a cassette tape in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]'':-->'''Venom Snake:''' "Humans are incapable of destroying themselves?" Turns out he never knew ''what'' humans are capable of. * ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}:''** ''Videogame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': Laharl hates love and thinks it's worthless, [[spoiler: at first]].** ''Videogame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'': Rozalin cannot understand why Adel would want to escort her home instead of using her as a pawn in his own plans. She is willing to fight to protect Hanako and Taro, but believes she's only doing that because they are her "vassals", and caring for your vassals is what nobles are required to do.** Mao in ''Videogame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'' has this problem. Despite his obsessive research on super hero tropes, cliches, and plot devices, he just doesn't get stuff like love and courage. He knows they exist, but can't make heads or tails of them.** ''Videogame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'': Valvatorez, a nice guy for a demon, has the balls to accuse ''God'' of this. He claims that even God could not have foreseen the demons' use of ThePowerOfFriendship to defeat his creation Fear the Great.* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'':** This was ultimately [[spoiler:Ghetsis']] downfall. [[spoiler:His own dialog shows he personally believed everyone saw Pokemon as tools, just as he did. Because of this, he allows his son N to encounter Pokemon that had a truly caring relationship with their trainers, causing N to question Team Plasma's cause and befriend the player character, whom Ghetsis continuously underestimates because he doesn't believe they ''can'' behave selflessly and/or care about their Pokemon. As a result, the player acquires the other legendary dragon, defeats N, and for a nice bonus personally curbstomps Ghetsis with ThePowerOfFriendship. Cue [[VillainousBreakdown screaming breakdown]].]]** Bites [[spoiler: Ghetsis]] again in the sequels, where he insists to himself aloud, on-screen, that Pokemon ([[spoiler:and "that inhuman freak" N]]) aren't sentient and so ''can't'' hate him, only [[ItsAllAboutMe serve him]]. Right in front of two trainers, at least half a dozen Pokemon, two legendary dragons, [[spoiler:and one "inhuman freak"]], [[{{Understatement}} none of whom agree with him]]. He also dismisses Colress's research verifying ThePowerOfFriendship, despite having personally hired Colress to study how best to make Pokemon powerful [[spoiler:and lead Team Plasma in his stead]].* In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum]]'', Cyrus's conviction that [[StrawNihilist the nature of human spirit is what is wrong with the universe]] leaves him dumbfounded that you would stop him from [[OmnicidalManiac destroying reality]] [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial to start over]].* Implied in ''Videogame/DungeonKeeper'', especially the first game. Before each mission, The Evil Mentor gives you a brief introduction to the land you're about to conquer. He seems both revolted and amazed by the happy, peaceful, non-violent lives the peasants are able to lead. One town, for example, is described as 'a truly bizarre realm' because the inhabitants prefer talking, laughing and singing over arguing, drawing daggers and murdering each other in a gurgling rush of blood.* [[DefectorFromDecadence Sagacious Zu]] manages to trick [[TinTyrant Death's Hand]] into burying himself in ''Videogame/JadeEmpire'' because Death's Hand wasn't prepared for the possibility that his foe would sacrifice himself to complete his goal.* This is the key to success in ''VideoGame/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''. Each of the initial five scenarios are prepared with AM assuming his captives would fall victim to their baser desires, [[spoiler: but to complete them each character has to overcome their flaws and make sacrifices, [[LogicBomb which utterly baffles the mad AI]], who can not see humans as anything but utter bastards. In the endgame, you have to defeat three computers representing AM's Ego, Superego and Id. Using the Forgiveness totem on the Ego causes him to shut down, since he can't comprehend how anyone would forgive him for all he's done]].* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': Dimentio simply thought that, after the heroes used up the Pure Hearts to defeat Bleck, they would be gone for good, thus meaning the only threat to him after backstabbing a weakened Count Bleck and gaining the Chaos Heart would be forever gone. As such, he ends up legitimately surprised when the Pure Hearts return (thanks to the love between Bleck, Tippi/Timpani, and his followers) and remove his invulnerability.* ''VideoGame/FearEffect'': Yim Lau Wong (The King of Hell) turns out to have no concept of human decency. If you make the choice to not have Hana and Glas shoot each other, The King of Hell will fly into a rage and say "Mei Yun, you have come too far to ''disappoint'' me!"* Played for laughs in ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic 2'' with [[TokenEvilTeammate HK-47]]. The player has the option of installing something that turns out to be a pacifistic program, which they will uninstall after the ensuing hilarity of a the AxCrazy droid saying he couldn't harm another living thing. After expressing disgust at the thought that he nearly surrendered to peace and pacifism, HK-47 comments "It was close, but for a moment I thought I understood why some meatbags would prefer friendship over a high-powered blaster carbine." Apparently he can't grasp why anybody would not want to kill someone. In another conversation he explains "love" in terms of a difficult sniper shot.* The BigBad of ''Videogame/{{Persona 4}}'', [[spoiler: Izanami]], expresses her disbelief that [[spoiler: "the will of so few could surpass the will of so many" in regards to the protagonist's [[ThePowerOfFriendship Social Links]]. She also can't understand why humans wouldn't want to live in ignorance.]]* Evil in general doesn't seem to have any real problems with understanding good in ''Videogame/StarControl''. The [[spoiler: Neo-Dnyarri]] gets bitten in the ass by self-serving pointlessly cruel evil not being able to get honourable evil, though: [[spoiler: it]] sends you against the most powerful race in the region to get killed. That would be fine... except that race happens to have been enslaved by [[spoiler: the Dnyarri]] and with the sort of sense of honor that would let you just leave the area unmolested (once) for warning them about the [[spoiler: Dnyarri returning]].* Despite his alchemical and tactical genius, Hazama/Terumi Yuuki from ''Videogame/BlazBlue'' either considers the spirit of goodness (and what motivates people into doing good) a means to [[ManipulativeBastard use people to serve his whims]] ([[spoiler:like Litchi and Tsubaki]]) or considers it shitty and boring, if he understands it at all. In the ''Slight Hope'' story from Extend, however, this bites him square in the ass. [[spoiler:He was merrily carrying out his plans in the ''Wheel of Fortune'' timeline when Makoto Nanaya fell in from the ''Continuum Shift'' timeline, and when she got beat up after parrying a hit on Jin, he dismissed her as merely a "damned squirrel" best left to Relius. Between that incident, honesty to Tager and Kokonoe regarding her intentions, trusting Bang with rescuing Jin, and counseling Tsubaki (and asking her about the unknown-to-Makoto nonexistent Noel Vermillion), she [[SpannerInTheWorks altered the timeline in a way that caused Hazama's plans to implode]]--even he was forced to admit asking Tsubaki about Noel caused it to self-destruct. Given his assassination attempt on her in ''Continuum Shift'' proper, which takes place days later, he has never forgiven her for this insult.]] And yet, despite all that, it has done ''nothing'' to his opinion on goodness, much less make him stop acting like scum. All he really learned is to let his buddy Relius take care of her... [[TemptingFate so what happens if he can't deter her]]?* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'':** The BigBad, Caesar's FatalFlaw is that he is a massive egomaniac, which leads him to arrogantly assume that any resourceful and competent person ''must'' obviously agree with his worldview and invites [[PlayerCharacter the Courier]] to work for him. It doesn't matter if the Courier is a goody-two-shoes dedicated to protecting the downtrodden and needy, and so far have focused their efforts on supporting [[TheFederation the NCR]] and messing up the Legion's plans. He will assume you agree with his brutal regime purely because you are a capable badass, and task you with vital missions without making even a token effort to change or even acknowledge your past allegiances. The biggest moment of this comes when you can pretend to have destroyed House's bunker, and Caesar offers to repay you by killing Benny. If you try to release him Caesar will chastise you for not enjoying violence and blackmail you into killing Benny yourself by threatening to crucify him. And after all that effort to manipulate you into doing something you clearly didn't want to? He smugly boasts about how sure he is you loved it.** In the epilogue of the Dead Money DLC, if Dean Domino, whose manipulations before the war were pretty much why the Sierra Madre is a hellhole, is still alive he'll learn of how his former accomplice Vera Keyes was addicted to Med-X and Super Stimpacks (which he used to blackmail her) due to a terminal illness and the story of how Sinclair tried to sacrifice himself to save her. It's stated that he felt strangely sad for a moment [[IgnoredEpiphany but has no idea why]]. It's at least enough to make Dean finally let go of the Sierra Madre...and set his sights on New Vegas. The backstory of the DLC also shows that Dean saw Sinclair's happiness as a form of self-righteousness and that he felt as if Sinclair was simply rubbing his success in his face.** In the Old World Blues DLC it's possible to get EvilutionaryBiologist Dr. Borous to feel tremendous guilt about how he treated Gabe, his beloved dog who was loyal to the very end, as a test subject that he subjected to countless experiments (including turning him into a Cyberdog and pumping him full of combat drugs). When it finally hits him, he has no idea why he suddenly feels so horrible, deciding that he doesn't like this feeling and quickly suppresses it, though it's hinted that it still lingers. That's if you spell it out for him; If, however, you take his side without question, [[UndyingLoyalty just like Gabe would]], he can't shake the guilt and reaches this conclusion on his own, which causes him to begin treating his test subjects more humanely.** Joshua Graham's unique .45 Auto Pistol "A Light Shining in Darkness" has the biblical passage used as the page quote engraved on it in Greek.* In ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'', the BigBad [[spoiler:Heiss, Stocke's uncle,]] cannot comprehend in the true ending why Stocke is willing to be the Sacrifice unlike himself. Stocke explains that, ironically enough, it's because of the BigBad. [[spoiler:Heiss raised him with earnest love as his nephew and introduced him to people he would treasure as his friends. Unlike Heiss, Stocke had people he cared about enough to give up his own life to protect.]] In a twist, [[spoiler:Stocke's words reach Heiss and Heiss offers himself as the Sacrifice to save Stocke.]] * Handsome Jack of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' has an understanding of "good" that is at the very least incredibly skewed and deeply delusional. He honestly believes himself to be a hero attempting to bring civilization to Pandora while at the same time gleefully relishing torture and laughing about a time he [[EyeScream gouged out a man's eyeballs in front of his children]]. He seems to believe that being a hero is simply being rich and powerful enough to kill anyone you don't like.* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', [[spoiler:if Corvo spares Daud, the assassin who murdered his beloved Empress,]] [[HumanoidAbomination the Outsider]] is utterly shocked. This is the ''only'' thing that will surprise the Outsider. It doesn't do anything to change his [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters low opinion of humanity as a whole]]; he merely considers Corvo to be an exception to the rule. * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Vanitas repeatedly mocks Ventus' firm belief in ThePowerOfFriendship. It does ''not'' end well for him.** In the [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI first game]], "Ansem"/Xehanort believes that darkness is the heart's true essence and thus, Kingdom Hearts, as the most powerful heart, must have the power of supreme darkness. Thus, when he tries to harness the power of Kingdom Hearts, he instead gets blasted by its light.** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', both Marluxia and Larxene are utterly perplexed, and even slightly annoyed, that Sora consciously chooses to protect Naminé from them even after discovering that [[FakeMemories his memories of her and their supposed friendship were all lies]]. Larxene even flat-out calls Sora a delusional idiot.** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' Xigbar proves just how much he ''doesn't'' get it by trying to induce a HeroicBSOD in Sora by telling him that since his friends are his power, Sora has no real power of his own. This only manages to affirm Sora's belief in ThePowerOfFriendship, since that means he's part of something much bigger. Xigbar is utterly baffled by Sora's reaction and pulls a VillainExitStageLeft.** Organization XIII has a bit of a problem with this: their entire plan with Xion in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'' got hopelessly derailed because they didn't anticipate the effect having true friends would have on her. Both Roxas and Axel wind up betraying the Organization out of loyalty to their friends, and the higher-ups seem utterly baffled as to why they would do this. Xaldin also is shown to believe that [[GenreBlindness love is a weakness (in a Disney game)]], which causes his pet project with the Beast to fail horribly in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''.* ''VideoGame/{{Infamous}}'': ** In ''VideoGame/{{Infamous 2}}'', [[PlayingWithFire Nix]] always advocates the Evil Karma decisions for Cole, and whenever someone else suggests a goal that involves helping people and getting them to fight by Cole's side willingly, Nix not only scoffs at it, but acts like they're crazy for even thinking of it. From what she tells us of her childhood, she probably hasn't met too many nice people in her life.** [[BigBad Brooke Augustine]] of ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'' is [[spoiler: literally incapable of imagining a world where [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Conduits]] and humans coexist peacefully. Peace itself seems to be an alien concept to her; there's only fear, more fear, and fear on top of fear to keep people in line. The Conduits she keeps imprisoned are miserable and experimented-upon remorselessly. The humans are kept in line through coercion, and she herself is the source of most of the propaganda painting Conduits as nothing more than {{Living Weapon}}s. When the government is considering shutting down the D.U.P. because it's done too good a job of containing everyone, she goes out of her way to engineer an escape just to keep herself in power...so she can keep Conduits "safe."]]* Quite a few villains in the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series suffer from this trope.** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': As the only humans he faced prior to Link were cowardly and either hid or turned to Hylia for protection when faced with him, [[BigBad Ghirahim]] is driven to a VillainousBreakdown over the fact that Link keeps ignoring his threats and challenging him. It's more along the lines of Evil Cannot Comprehend Courage, but the basic idea is the same. [[spoiler:Demise]], on the other hand, is pleasantly surprised to discover such courageous behavior, [[BloodKnight though for seemingly different reasons]].** Ganon(dorf) has a similar reaction in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', openly failing to understand why the heroes won't just give up and let darkness win when things seem hopeless, fighting and ultimately securing an "impossible" victory. Weirdly, this is actually an appearance where he's much more of a PragmaticVillain than usual, sometimes verging on AffablyEvil--he's willing to support his underlings and listen to them when they have good ideas, and shows grudging but genuine respect for the heroes at times for their courage, skill, and cleverness.** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' also has Cia, who doesn't understand why Lana is trying to stop her from trying to [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill Zelda so she could be with Link]]. As [[spoiler:Lana is Cia's good side made manifest]], she believes she is doing what they both want deep down as [[spoiler: they're the same person. Even as she lays dying, Cia musters the strength to ask Lana how can she live knowing that in every era, Link will always end up with Zelda and she'll always be left behind. Lana merely replies that you don't always get the person you want and she can live with that.]]--->'''Cia:''' Lana... I thought this was what you wanted. ** Zant in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' cannot understand why he was rejected by the Twili people in favor of [[spoiler:Midna]] and truly believed he was doing the right thing for all Twili by invading Hyrule and plunging it into darkness. Midna [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech all but spells out the trope for him]]. --->'''Midna:''' Traitors, ha! You want to know why none would call you king? It was your eyes, Zant. All saw it, a lust for power burning in your pupils. Did you think we'd forget how our ancestors lost their king to such greed? * Happens during the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', where the BigBad kidnaps the party except for Lloyd and attempts to {{Mind Rape}} them by torturing them with their personal demons (all of which the BigBad can also relate to, as he's suffering from the same kind as them.) Lloyd manages to find them and help them confront and overcome each of them (involving forgiveness, courage and acceptance,) leaving the BigBad dumbfounded each time.* ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'': ** ''DMC 4'', [[BigBad Sanctus]] repeatedly scoffs at the concept of love, even explicitly dismissing Credo's love for his sister Kyrie as foolish. Unfortunately for him, it's this view that, according to Dante and Nero, renders him unable to truly harness the power of Sparda's sword. Similarly, when Agnus is unable to understand how Dante defeated him, Dante spells it out for him.--->'''Dante:''' You surrendered your humanity. It's ''that'' simple.** Also in ''DMC 1'', where Trish has no idea why Dante rescues her from a falling debris, despite her betraying him.--->'''Trish:''' Dante, why did you save my life?\\'''Dante:''' Because you look like my mother.* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'':** During chapter 23, when Pit calls [[spoiler: Hades out on eating and thus [[CessationOfExistence destroying souls]], thus preventing them from moving on or being [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnated]], Hades flat-out tells Pit that he sees no difference between removing souls from existence and reincarnation. Though, considering [[{{Troll}} his personality]], he could just be saying that to mess with Pit's head.]]** [[NatureSpirit Viridi]] is another example, though she isn't necessarily evil. She just doesn't understand what [[WideEyedIdealist Pit]] and [[GodOfGood Palutena]] see in humanity and frequently questions why they would fight so hard to protect [[HumansAreBastards a species she considers inferior.]] At the end, when [[spoiler: Hades]] is defeated, she gets into one last debate about humanity, but when she realizes she isn't changing their minds, she leaves off in an annoyed huff.* Navarre from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' isn't necessarily "evil" so much as "classist douchebag", but when he and some of his friends try to lure Flynn, a Casualry, into a trap, one of his subordinates sees Luxurors Jonathan and Isabeau come to Flynn's aid, and can't comprehent why a Luxuror would come to the aid of a Casualry. [[ShutUpHannibal Jonathan points out that the role of a Samurai is to help out others, regardless of their social standing.]]* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': In the final mission [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Devin Weston]] tries to goad [[spoiler: Franklin into killing Michael for him in exchange for taking the heat from the Feds off his ass, and laughs at the idea of him trying to save both Michael and Trevor. Depending in your choice, you can pick C, where Franklin has Michael and Trevor reconcile and they destroy all of crew's enemies, including Weston]].* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'': Zanza expresses disappointment that Shulk and company reject his offer of friendship. Shulk responds that Zanza doesn't understand what friendship is, what he thinks it is is absolute loyalty so that he can use them as a food source.* [[spoiler:Flowey]] in the Neutral ending of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': [[spoiler:After defeating his OneWingedAngel form and freeing the [=SOULs=] he had enslaved, you are given the choice to execute him or spare him. If you choose to spare him, he makes you confirm your choice several times, all the while pointing out that he is the ultimate cause of everything bad that had happened to you, threatening to kill you and everyone you love, and finally screaming that he doesn't understand why you're doing this.]] Mercy, apparently, is a foreign concept to this character. [[spoiler:It's ultimately revealed that as TheSoulless he is outright physically incapable of compassion or any kind of feeling for others.]]* In ''VideoGame/TransformersDevastation'', Megatron doesn't understand why Optimus and the Autobots would fight so hard for a planet that's not even theirs, especially one inhabited by lowly organics. [[spoiler: At the end, after being defeated in their final battle, Megatron reveals he's [[SadisticChoice rigged the Ferrotaxis so that the only way to stop the Insecticons from cyberforming Earth is to destroy it]], firmly believing Optimus wouldn't sacrifice years of Cybertronian culture just to save a lowly backwater planet. Predictably, Optimus proves him wrong and destroys the Ferrotaxis, much to Megatron's shock.]]* [[Franchise/{{Lunar}} Lunar series]]:** In ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'', the villain's sinister plot begins when he witnesses an act of divine altruism and perceives it as abandonment. [[spoiler:Magic Emperor Ghaleon could not understand why the Goddess Althena chose to relinquish her powers when it meant the world would lose her oversight, and plotted to fill the void she left...with himself.]]** In ''[[VIdeoGame/LunarEternalBlue Lunar 2]]'', the villain uses the heroes' feelings of friendship and love in a BatmanGambit against the heroine, [[spoiler:bringing her under his control.]] But he never imagined that those same emotions would empower her to overcome him.* A very common theme found in the antagonists of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV'', aside LoveMakesYouEvil. Subverted with [[spoiler:Leonard Testarossa]]. After witnessing [[spoiler:[[Anime/CrossAnge Embryo]]]] and what he was planning to do, he realizes what he's been doing and hates everything he's done. Unfortunately for him, RedemptionEqualsDeath.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* Completely subverted in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' in ''Heaven's Feel''. [[spoiler:Despite trying to destroy the world in large part ForTheEvulz, the reason Kotomine decided the ''reason'' he would do that is he understood good perfectly well. He's just unable to actually do it and feel satisfied no matter how hard he tries. Apart from his background material, he gambles away his entire magic crest to save Sakura knowing that Shirou's righteous spirit will make him protect her from ''anything''. In fact, his XanatosSpeedChess was entirely reliant on exploiting the 'good' nature of Shirou.]]* ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All]]'': [[spoiler: Matt Engarde hires professional assassin Shelly de Killer to kill his rival, then uses a hidden camera to film the crime as insurance in case de Killer tries to blackmail him. However, de Killer places great value on the trust between himself and his clients and is outraged at this betrayal. Engarde clearly never considered that [[EvenEvilHasStandards some crooks might have higher standards than him.]]]] * When everyone confronts the Mastermind at the end of ''VisualNovel/{{Danganronpa}}''. [[spoiler:Junko, being pretty much despair personified, manages to get everyone to cross the DespairEventHorizon by revealing that the world outside the school has been destroyed, and all their efforts to escape have been for nothing, as there's no guarantee they'll even survive if they step outside. Makoto, having become Ultimate Hope at this point, manages to give everyone their HeroicSecondWind, to which Junko freaks out and screams "What the hell are you!?"]]** Earlier, Byakuya is utterly shocked when he [[spoiler: he misses a crucial detail involving Sakura's death, while Makoto manages to discern it with ease, and completely flips when he learns the reason: he never imagined that Sakura would commit suicide in order to protect her friend.]]** The first miscalculation the BigBad makes is framing Kyouko for [[spoiler:Mukuro]]'s murder: the plan fails because they didn't consider the possibility that someone would willingly take the fall for Kyouko and die in her place. Similarly, they didn't predict that [[spoiler:Alter Ego]] would make a HeroicSacrifice [[spoiler:to prolong Naegi's life]].* Minor example in one ending of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors''. [[spoiler: Ace]] tries to bribe a dying [[spoiler: Snake]] not to kill him via a murder-suicide by [[spoiler: claiming he has access to hospitals that could save the should-already-be-dead Snake.]] He's so self-absorbed and sociopathic that he can't imagine that [[spoiler: Snake doesn't '''want''' to live after Ace killed his beloved sister, Clover, and just cares about making sure Ace pays for it -- the idea of caring about someone so much that losing them causes your own life to be meaningless is utterly alien.]] [[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* The {{Villain Protagonist}}s of ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' are not only confused by Good, they are confused by [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2007/02/08/episode-806-relief/ any plan which does not include murder or theft]]. And apparently, [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/11/22/episode-1063-post-emptive-strike/ they cannot comprehend why the Other Warriors don't hate each other, either]].* A rather bizzare subversion occurs in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}''. When Kore, a KnightTemplar Extraordinare chases a group of goblins and takes one of them prisoner, he proceeds to torture him, (correctly) expecting the others to hear the screams and try and save their comrade. However, judging from his uncompromising approach to "evil" races, you'd think he'd consider such "irredeemably corrupt and wicked beasts" as goblins to be incapable of selflessness and comradeship.* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': ** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0547.html #547]], Redcloak assumes that the humans would think highly of the goblins who spared them and despise the paladin who did not save them. In fact, the humans are heartened by the paladin's resistance to Redcloak. That strip shows the real problem the humans and goblins have with each other--neither sees the good in the other.** Similarly, Redcloak seems honestly perplexed that O-Chul ''doesn't'' know anything about Girard's Gate, since obviously the paladins would need to know about it in order to protect it. He knows about the oath they took to leave Girard alone, but simply can't understand that they'd [[HonorBeforeReason risk the apocalypse in order to keep their word]]. ** There's a similar "Chaos Cannot Comprehend Law" example in Girard's emnity with Soon, spelled out starting in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0694.html #694]]. Girard was so unshakably certain that Soon would find some excuse and loophole to come find his Gate--in spite of his Oath not to--that he tailored his Gate's defenses with Soon in mind. It didn't occur to him that not only would Soon keep his oath, but hold his subordinates, the order of paladins he founded, to the same oath. --->'''Belkar:''' Hey, back it up a second: I thought you said that bluffing against a paladin was easy money?\\'''Haley:''' Sure, if you grasp how paladins think. Mr. Booby Trap here clearly doesn't, or he wouldn't have bet on one to break his oath.** Earlier, in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0069.html #69]] the following exchange occurs after Elan [[SaveTheVillain saves]] his [[EvilTwin brother]] from falling:--->'''Nale:''' I'll never tell you anything about Xykon.\\'''Elan:''' Yeah, I know. But I didn't save you so we could interrogate you. I saved you 'cause I'm the Good twin, not the Neutral twin.\\'''Nale:''' ...I don't get it.\\'''Elan:''' Yup.** Yet another example is Nale's inability to understand that despite their differences, Roy and his sister Julia really do love each other. After all, [[CainAndAbel shouldn't all siblings have a violent hatred for each other]]?** A protagonist example in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0523.html #523]], in which Belkar is unable to understand the benefit in freeing slaves.** In ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'', Xykon defeats Dorukan and seals his soul within a gem along with the soul of former teammate Lirian. His only understanding of love being mostly just sex and rape, he just assumes that this is AndIMustScream. However, he actually unites the souls of two lovers for eternity.** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0759.html Actually, no, Elan does not appreciate atrocities being committed on his behalf.]]** Similarly, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0783.html strip #783]]. No, it's not that weird that Elan doesn't like watching people suffer just because they got the better of him once.** In strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0813.html #813]], General Tarquin attributes [[TheHero Roy]] going out of his way to rescue bystanders to "stylistic differences".** In strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0880.html #880]], it's how Haley knows that [[spoiler:Belkar's telling the truth about Durkon having been killed and turned into a vampire by Malack. She knows that Belkar couldn't make up the part about Durkon's last wish being for Malack to spare the rest of the Order, since Belkar couldn't conceive of anyone being that selfless.]]** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html In strip #936]], Tarquin, who is hanging from the edge of the ''[[CoolAirship Mechane]]'' attempts to [[ExploitedTrope use this trope to his advantage]], thinking that Elan will save his life to prove the hero is better than the villain. [[spoiler:Elan refuses, abandons his father, and points out that the rules for falling in their RPGMechanicsVerse mean that Tarquin isn't actually in any danger, turning this trope into Evil Cannot Comprehend GoodIsNotDumb.]]** In Strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0963.html #963]], [[spoiler:the High Priest of Hel seems incapable of following the emotional link between one of Durkon's childhood memories and a more recent one. Later, in strip [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1009.html #1009]], his inability to comprehend CharacterDevelopment comes back to bite him--in an attempt to break Roy's spirit, he mentions having "always wondered" how many pieces Eric's body ended up in when he died, which Roy knows is [[SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay something Durkon would never even consider]] before becoming Evil.]]* Why Bud's plan to destroy the Turquoise Lake summer camp [[http://www.precociouscomic.com/archive/comic/2014/08/27 falls apart]] in ''WebComic/{{Precocious}}''. It hinged on the campers acting like the Gemstone kids.* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}''. [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-09-18 Buddha is happy, despite not having all Satan's stuff. Therefore, obviously, Buddha's priorities are screwed up.]]* ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'': ** A group of politicians dig up an old, unfulfilled contract involving ancient relics to seize Quentyn's old hometown. Quentyn [[PullTheThread pulls the thread]] on the whole thing by going out to try and fulfill the contract, even if it takes him the rest of his life. Because of laws concerning such contracts, even if he dies trying, the contract is canceled.** In fact, a few comics later, other characters outright state this trope. The politicians have no answer to the heroic sacrifice, because when they started their bid to take over the town they completely overlooked the possibility that this could happen.--->"[The Hero] made a move that they completely failed to prepare for. Unsurprising, I've found that schemers and plotters are rarely able to cope with simple things like honor and courage."* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Baron Wulfenbach is definitely an antagonist, though perhaps not an outright villain. However, he can't understand that some things ''don't'' have a sinster ulterior motive behind them. For example, when an opponent allows his severely battered army to withdraw from the battlefield, he immediately sends out scouts to search for the flanking force preparing to destroy them they must have missed. That his opponent is genuinely trying to avoid further bloodshed never even crosses his mind. To be fair, such a thing ''is'' pretty unprecedented [[{{Realpolitik}} in the setting]]. * ''Webcomic/GrimTalesFromDownBelow'': [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Him]] is upset when his daughter betrayed him but not at the betrayal itself, but the reason for Mimi's betrayal is for the lover of her friend. Him even said that if she betrayed him for petty reasons, he [[BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad would've been proud.]]* In [[http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/291/ this page]] of ''WebComic/LookingForGroup'', TokenEvilTeammate Richard listens as Kale and Benny finally consummate their sexual tension. But since he has no concept of making love, his first thought is that Kale is killing her.* Deconstructed with Meenah in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. When her girlfriend, [[spoiler: pre-RetCon Vriska]], is being tormented by [[spoiler: post-RetCon Vriska]], she proclaims to agree with the latter party, deciding that all of the loving and kind qualities that led to the pair being lovers in the first place really does make the former party a weak person. Meenah figures that being evil is simply a part of her genes and cannot be changed and leaves to help the bully's plans, clearly distraught by her choice.-->MEENAH: what you need to know is -->MEENAH: like -->MEENAH: ...-->MEENAH: im-->MEENAH: bad* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Sirleck cannot understand why [[OurElvesAreBetter Raven]] would [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2190 do charity work for military veterans.]]--> '''Sirleck:''' What's the point of living for centuries if you're going to let your heart bleed? * The spirits of the SevenDeadlySins in ''Webcomic/{{Widdershins}}'' aren't evil so much as antagonistic and utterly single-minded, but {{Lust}} freely acknowledges that he doesn't understand how humans function with "such a mess of chaotic emotions." Consequently he assumes that LoveIsAWeakness and overlooks how strong some of the couples in the story are with each other as backup.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* In [[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2009/09/10/vampires-crosses/ this]] blog post, Fred Clark theorizes that this is the reason vampires fear crosses.* Inverted in [[http://www.giantitp.com/articles/XbsQgS9YYu9g3HZBAGE.html this article]] by Rich Burlew, author of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. The heroes in a game he was [[GameMaster DMing]] assumed that two villains who had allied together were [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder inevitably going to betray one another]] [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness once they had achieved their goals]]... it never occurred to them that [[VillainousFriendship they might be good friends]].* PlayedForLaughs by WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick, who surmises the popularity spell in ''Film/TeenWitch'' as "having all the awesomeness of the messiah with none of that martyr shit".* In ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', Ma-Ti has a meltdown when WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic closes the door on the real world and proves that he's become a true hero. Unlike most examples of this trope, Ma-Ti has known the Critic first hand as a colossal, selfish, {{Jerkass}} ManChild. His shock is more understandable under the circumstances, making it more of a case of Evil Cannot Comprehend CharacterDevelopment.* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic: PlayedForLaughs in his review of ''Film/{{Casper}}'', when the titular ghost is stunned to see Critic praising the movie and resorts to a GroinAttack.* In one ''[[Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse Global Guardians]]'' story, it was the titular hero team who invoked this trope. They were literally handed the exact location of Osama bin-Ladin and the rest of al-Queda's leadership by Lord Doom, one of their greatest enemies shortly after the 9/11 attacks and the fall of the World Trade Center (an event that took the life of one of their teammates). It took the Global Guardians nearly a week to take advantage of this intelligence because they could not think of a reason for Doom to help them that didn't involve an ulterior motive, a trap, or a distraction from some bigger scheme. Turns out, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Doom helped them out of a sense of horror, disgust, and anger for al-Queda's targeting "innocent bystanders".]]* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', this seems to be a factor in the MistakenForBadass situation between Sparadrap and Dark Avenger. Sparadrap considers that Dark Avenger and him are FriendlyEnemies, while Sparadrap's InvincibleIncompetent tendencies have convinced Dark Avenger that he's actually an elite player displaying ObfuscatingStupidity. Dark Avenger's standard reaction to Sparadrap's friendly lines can be summed up as "quit that little trick you use to get you opponent's guard down, it doesn't work on me."* In the [[Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom Alternate History.com]] timeline ''Literature/{{Reds}}'', a communist revolution takes place in America in 1933 as a result of the Great Depression. Despite some [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized dirty business]], the new leadership [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified does not sink into the depravities of the Soviet Union]], and chooses not to execute political opponents like Robert Taft. This confuses a Soviet diplomat, and ''really'' pisses off Joseph Stalin.* This pops up on several occasions in the [[Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom Alternate History.com]] ''WebOriginal/ZhirinovskysRussianEmpire'', in which the balance between goodness and political reality is frequently highlighted:** A standoff between the UIS and the US over Kosovo has push the WTO countries to the brink of WorldWarThree. Slobodan Milosevic fires the first punch and attacks Zhur, not thinking Bob Kerrey would care about Kosovo. It escapes him that Serbian and Russians then-recently [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide committed horrible crimes in Chechnya and Bosnia]], and that Kerrey wouldn't want another horrible attack committed against an ethnicity. When Kerrey does order an airstrike against the Serb army, Milosevic is left looking like an idiot.** [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Vladimir Zhirinovsky]] floods the world with fake US passports, thinking that a flood of illegal immigrants would destroy America with racial strife. It doesn't occur to him that Americans aren't as racist as he is. %%FunnyAneurysmMoment?** The UIS is able to engineer a crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia that could [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum devastate world oil supplies]], and pushes America in either [[SadisticChoice backing down and losing credibility, or going to war with Iran, and causing a worldwide energy crisis]]. The UIS is blindsided when [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption Bob Kerrey writes an apology letter to the moderate Iranian president]] ]]. ** When ever someone objects to or tries to prevent a war crime, expect the perpetrator to react with confusion and[=/=]or annoyance.* After the gang in Machinima/RedVsBlue manage to stop [[spoiler: The Chairman's]] plans to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out the people of Chorus]] and expose his corruption to TheFederation, he smugly gloats that they are now surrounded by his personnel security force and as good as dead, only for them [[ShutUpHannibal to remind him that they also just stopped his plans]] and prepare for their last stand. To which [[spoiler: The Chairman]] can only repeatedly that they are about to die, as if he does not understand that they may be ''okay'' with [[HeroicSacrifice dying knowing that their actions saved an entire world.]] [[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': ** The resident [[ManipulativeBastard "people person"]], and [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] Azula finds herself [[VillainousBreakdown completely bewildered]] when [[spoiler:her {{sidekick}} Mai risks her life to help the TurnCoat Zuko escape TheAlcatraz]].--->'''Azula:''' [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove The thing I don't understand is]] ''[[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove why.]]'' Why would you do it? [[YouHaveFailedMe You know the consequences.]]\\[[spoiler:'''Mai:''' I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated. [[ThePowerOfLove I love Zuko]] [[MachiavelliWasWrong more than I fear you]]]].\\[[spoiler:'''Azula:''' No, ''you'' miscalculated! You should have feared me ''more''!]]** This moment of her inability to comprehend that love can trump self-preservation and loyalty born of intimidation has limits, flying in the face of her philosophy that "fear is the only reliable way" to control people, is actually the first step down the road towards her epic VillainousBreakdown. However, she's at least able to learn from this mistake and apply it to her strategy in the GrandFinale (while she was in the middle of said breakdown no less).** This becomes something of a running theme for Mai. In the comic ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderRebound Rebound]]'', her father is confident she'll want to join his movement to overthrow Zuko after she breaks up with him. He never expected [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters his freedom fighters would be Mai's terrorists]] and miscalculates her response as badly as Azula did.** In episode "The Beach," Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, and Azula all take turns confessing their problems, and helping each other talk through their issues. When it's over, Zuko and Mai have reconciled over an argument they had and Ty Lee feels cleansed. Azula compliments them on their great "acting", treating the entire thing like it was a show.* Kuvira--BigBad of Season 4 of the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''--really should brush up on her history, as she makes the exact same mistake with Zhu Li that Azula made with Mai, instantly trusting the girl and easily believing she would turn on Varrick out of fear of her. She never questioned for a second whether Zhu Li's betrayal of Varrick and pledge of UndyingLoyalty to her was true or not--how could it be otherwise? She's not just upset when she finds out one of her most valuable scientists is a FakeDefector; she's genuinely ''shocked''. No one's ever dared try to double-cross her before! Zhu Li was able to fool her about her true loyalties because Kuvira never even considered that Zhu Li might love Varrick more than she feared her--like her predecessor, she miscalculated.* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'':** In season 1, XANA's flawed understanding of human behavior, including things like courage and friendship, is his major flaw. In one episode, he traps the team in a virtual ''Matrix''-style copy of the school, forcing Jérémie to virtualize himself to warn them. This leads to a SpotTheImposter scene where XANA (disguised as Jérémie) tries to convince the others how Jérémie's story can't be true:--->'''XANA:''' Everyone knows that the real Jérémie wouldn't step foot in the scanner. He'd be much too frightened!\\'''Odd:''' ''[after a pause]'' And I'm sure he ''would'' go into the scanner... if his friends were in danger.\\'''Ulrich:''' No doubt about it.\\'''Yumi:''' Absolutely none.\\'''XANA:''' But it's not logical! Don't you see? He's much too scared to even try... I--''I'm'' much too scared! If not, then why haven't I already done it?\\'''Jérémie:''' I told you why. Because he's not infallible. XANA's knowledge of people is only approximative.\\'''Odd:''' And when it comes to friendship, it's not approximative; it's double zero. Good to see you again, [[AffectionateNickname Einstein]].\\''[Jérémie smiles]''\\'''XANA:''' [[MoodWhiplash No, it's not logical! NOOO!]] ''[[LogicBomb NOT! LOGICAL! NOT! LOGICAL!]]''** However, XANA is an interesting case in that unlike many villains, he actually learns from this defeat; in later seasons, he actually anticipates both Aelita and Franz Hopper making {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s and take advantage on it to pull out {{Batman Gambit}}s.* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything" (based on a story from the comics), Mongul imagines that Superman's greatest desire being shown to him by the [[LotusEaterMachine Black Mercy]] is of him ruling the galaxy. Instead, he's living peacefully on a farm on Krypton, married to a woman who resembles both Lana and Lois, and has a son.--> '''Mongul''': I wonder where he thinks he is? Sitting on a throne, ruling the universe... All you human garbage fawning at his feet. More honest, don't you think, than this pretense of being a "selfless hero"? (''Diana proceeds to bash Mongul's head in'') ** This is actually a change from the original comic, where in addition to the world conquest idea, Mongul wonders if he's dreaming of "whatever blissful backwater he was raised in". He was still wrong, but it's a bit closer to Superman's motivations.* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':** When the Mad Hatter imprisons Batman in a [[LotusEaterMachine fake world]] where his parents were never killed and he's engaged to Selina Kyle, who isn't a criminal. It's practically a paradise. When The Mad Hatter asks him why he chose to escape, he responds with "Because it's not REAL."** Ra's al Ghul doesn't understand why Batman is horrified by [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans Ra's plan to bring about Utopia by murdering lots of people]]. Of course, it doesnt help that what Ghul wants isn't actually a Utopia but basically just a society-wide cult revolving around worshipping him, but it wouldnt have mattered if he truly did intend to make a real utopia.** After Harley is let out of Arkham, she is caught up in a misunderstanding, and almost [[ThenLetMeBeEvil throws away her chance to reform]]. Batman tries to defuse the situation while it's still salvagable. Back at Arkham (but with some hope of getting out again), Harley asks Batman why he would put himself at risk for "somebody who's never given you anything but trouble". He explains that he knows everybody has bad days, even him, and it seems to get through. * ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'':** Both subverts and plays this straight with the relationship between [[MagnificentBastard David Xanatos]] and [[DarkActionGirl Fox]]. Though there are signs of their affection as early as Season 2's "Leader of the Pack", Xanatos doesn't initially believe their attraction and compatibility could actually be called love because "two people such as ourselves are [not fully] capable of that emotion."... until "Eye of the Beholder" has him going through [[XanatosSpeedChess plan after plan]] to get the woman he loves back after she has [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity a bad experience with the Eye of Odin.]]--->'''Xanatos:''' So now you know my weakness.\\'''[[WarriorPoet Goliath]]:''' Only you would regard ''[[LoveRedeems love]]'' as a weakness.** Duncan, Demona, and Tony Dracon also play the trope straight; Duncan's and Demona's treacherous natures led them to suspect that the loyal, honest Macbeth was equally treacherous in "City of Stone" Part 3 (in Duncan's case) and Part 4 (in Demona's case), while Dracon suspected the same of Elisa in "Protection."** Oberon doesn't seem to realize how everyone would fight him to keep him from taking away Xanatos and Fox's child. [[spoiler:Given the implication that Titania (who put the idea in Oberon's head to kidnap the baby) did the entire thing to get Fox to tap her fey powers in anger, it's suggested that Titania ''did''.]]** Lampshaded in "Protection", after Elisa nails Tony Dracon by pretending to be crooked. Goliath wonders why Dracon would think ''Elisa'' of all people would turn bad, and Elisa comments that the corrupt find it easy to believe that everyone else can be corrupted.* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':** Played straight in the "Toilet Paper" episode. Cartman is simply incapable of comprehending why the other boys feel guilt about Butters getting busted for what they did, to the point that trying to wrap his brain around it starts [[LogicBomb giving him a headache]]. He later confesses, but only in hopes of either getting lighter punishment, avoiding punishment, and looking good to the adults. Depressingly, because the adults are ignorant of Cartman's mental state the ruse works. ** On the other hand, it shows to the viewer that yes, coming clean sooner is good for you; it's just that this time the wrong person came clean for the wrong reasons. This extends to the point that Cartman actually believes he ''did'' learn a valuable life lesson and tries very awkwardly to deliver AnAesop, much to the exasperation of Kyle.--->'''Cartman:''' I've learnt that while you might not get in trouble first, you can later.\\'''Kyle:''' ''[FacePalm]'' Oh god...\\'''Cartman:''' At first I didn't feel bad but now I feel terrible.\\'''Kyle:''' You just feel bad for yourself because you got put in detention!\\'''Cartman:''' Right, so I guess what I learnt today is...\\'''Kyle:''' Oh stop it, Cartman. You didn't learn anything! Not a Goddamn thing!\\'''Cartman:''' ''[looks thoughtful]'' ...hmmm.** The "Coon and Friends" trilogy demonstrates this with a short dialogue between "The Coon" (Cartman) and [[TheCowl Mysterion]] ([[spoiler:Kenny]]). (And the debate with the Creator/AynRand Foundation begins...).--->'''[[SecretIdentity The Coon]]:''' It's not my fault [[SelfServingMemory you guys turned evil]], [[spoiler:Kenny]].\\'''Mysterion:''' You are the bad guy, Cartman. You!\\'''The Coon:''' I'm making the world a better place!\\'''Mysterion:''' ''FOR YOU!'' You're making it a better place ''for you!''\\'''The Coon:''' ''[{{Beat}}]'' Riiight. That's what superheroes do.** ''Possibly'' subverted in "How to Eat With Your Butt". Cartman loses his ability to laugh after seeing the Thompsons, people with a condition that makes their faces resemble buttocks. The other boys claim this is because he feels genuinely sorry for them because they lost their son, but Cartman insists the sight was so funny he merely "blew a funny fuse". When their son (Creator/BenAffleck) is reunited with them, the sight of them "kissing" him causes him to laugh again. He says it is so hilarious that it fixed him, but again the others tell him it's because he is happy they are back together. The subversion depends on whether or not he really felt sympathy for them (and was merely unable to comprehend ''why''), or he didn't (and couldn't understand why he ''should'').** In "Casa Bonita", Cartman tries to be nice so that Kyle will take him to the title restaurant. Due to this trope, Cartman's attempt to "be nice" was really just him [[InsaneTrollLogic putting on a nice sweater and changing nothing else.]] When Kyle points this out, Cartman has no clue what he means.** In "The Ring", the boys are incensed at how the Jonas Brothers' purity ring pitch have turned Kenny dull and angrily protest. Mickey Mouse, who is portrayed as a sadistic CorruptCorporateExecutive, thinks they are trying to sabotage him on behalf of Dreamworks. * Also played straight in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower''. [[EnemyMine Forced to work together]], She-Ra and Hordak get directions from a local in exchange for some fruit that's trivial for them to get, but impossible for the local to reach. Hordak starts to go the other way from the directions, saying the local had what he wanted, and thus no reason to genuinely help them.-->'''She-Ra:''' Your problem, Hordak, is that you lie all the time, so you assume everyone else does the same, even though you depend on most people keeping their word.* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': This is frequently where [[FlamingDevil Him's]] plans go wrong on ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls''. Every time he creates a situation to exploit something like their anger or fear, he's shocked at how sisterly love helps them overcome it. ** When Blossom and Buttercup save Bubbles in "Octi-Evil" after he thought he'd broken them up: "But you're supposed to be fighting each other!"** When they overcome [[YourWorstNightmare the fears he tortures them with in "Power-noia"]]: "You're supposed to be afraid!"** When Bubbles thwarts his [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome otherwise awesome]] plan in "All Chalked Up': "You can't do that! [[RuleOfThree You're supposed to express your anger]]!"* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Smurfette meets a very greedy troll who has a hard time understanding why anyone would give something of theirs away; this happens on her birthday, when the other smurfs are giving her gifts (he proceeds to steal them all, and Smurfette herself). After being rescued, Smurfette proves to be a lot more generous (not to mention forgiving) than he is, and he starts to learn his lesson after she shares with him. * ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':** As noted by Rob Hoegee in a feature on the Third Season DVD, this trope is Slade's achilles heel. His inability to understand Robin's willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends at the end of the first season or Terra's residual loyalty to the team in the second proved to be his undoing. It's worth noting that when his opponent is Trigon, the literal embodiment of evil, Slade's plan really goes off without a hitch, largely because Trigon acts in exactly the ways he predicts.** Trigon has the exact same weakness. Trigon couldn't understand why, against all odds, with the world literally having ended, the Titans continue to fight him and why Raven, despite him being [[spoiler: her creator]] stands up against him. This is ultimately his downfall as well.* Sometimes done on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':** Mr. Burns' moral compass is so far off kilter that even when he tries do something good, he's [[HeroWithAnFInGood actually more evil than he normally is]]. Lisa even lampshades it:--->'''Lisa:''' You're evil... and when you try to be good, you're even ''more'' evil!** In "Last Exit to Springfield", Mr. Burns cuts the power to the town during a strike, and is shocked that the union doesn't break.** After learning about recycling from Lisa in "The Old Man and the Lisa", Mr. Burns takes it to its extreme by recycling living sea creatures into a multipurpose slurry. He doesn't understand why Lisa is horrified by this, since, as he sees it, he is giving people what they need without wasting a single sea creature.** Happens with Jessica Lovejoy in "Bart's Girlfriend" after she was caught framing Bart Simpson and stealing the church collection plate money. When she saw Bart approach her while doing her punishment of washing the church steps, she assumed Bart was going to laugh at her. He instead confessed how their small relationship taught him not to be naive around girls. Jessica, however, confessed that she learned she could make boys do whatever she wanted and proves it by asking Bart to finish the job while she runs off with another boy. Bart claims he sees through her deception but then says "wait until she sees the second rate job I do on these stairs".* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Part of Vicky's {{Flanderization}}, as shown in "Frenemy Mine", is she cannot understand love, to the point where she cannot comprehend her feelings after Timmy saves her.* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' where He-Man and Skeletor are forced into an EnemyMine situation in order to save Eternia, Skeletor tries in vain to comprehend doing something good for a change. He asks He-Man "Don't you ever feel like doing something evil?" He-Man answers "Don't you ever feel like doing something good?"* This shows up occasionally in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''. For example:-->'''Natasha:''' Boris, how could you let them sail away with [[MacGuffin the mooseberry bush]]?\\'''Boris:''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext Bush was disguised as old man.]] Did I know they would help old man into lifeboat? I wouldn't!* In ''WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSmash'': The Collector is unable to understand why the Hulks would rather have the real world than the LotusEaterMachine he put them in.* WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer, being an emotionless, violent sociopath, is completely caught off-guard when anyone shows him a form of kindness (such as a man giving him money when he finds out Kevin was a runaway). Kevin's eventual response to these situations is to violently attack the person, or just steal their money. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Allan himself is surprised by this,]] [[CuriosityCausesConversion and mused that the kindness of others could put his faith back in humanity.]]* General Zhal from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' is left completely stunned after [[spoiler:he kills the ComicBook/DoomPatrol and the entire world chants "We are the Doom Patrol", showing that instead of making everyone see them as frauds, they see them as bigger heroes than before. Zhal is unable to even react to being arrested out of shock because he can't understand how a HeroicSacrifice increases people's faith in the sacrificer.]]* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':** The biggest weakness of Discord is his inability to truly understand how strong the bond between the mane cast truly is. He's taken completely off-guard when he discovers that they've reforged their friendship after he seemingly broke it apart [[spoiler:leading to his defeat]]. He also gets ''very'' frustrated when Fluttershy proves too kind and accepting of her own faults to fall for his [[MoreThanMindControl attempt to convince her her friends think she's weak and helpless and thus she should be mad at them.]] This makes sense when one considers he's the [[EvilCounterpart polar opposite]] of the Elements of Harmony, which run on the PowerOfFriendship. It may also be another of the apparent shout-outs to [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Him]], who shared this weakness as well.** In Discord's second appearance, he seems to recognize the idea of friendship by the end of it, [[spoiler: in that doing whatever he wants doesn't actually make him any happier because he actually cared about Fluttershy thought about him.]] However, season 4 makes it pretty clear that Discord ''still'' didn't understand friendship, seeing it as something that made him happy. He did enjoy the company of others, but he still didn't understand camaraderie, and as far as he was concerned, it was [[ItsAllAboutMe all about him]]. This makes him easy prey for Lord Tirek in the season 4 finale, who plays on the same idea that friendship is all about what you get out of it. Discord shows some signs of loyalty to Fluttershy (and Fluttershy alone) but still doesn't understand friendship [[spoiler:until, after Discord betrays his friends, allowing Lord Tirek to steal their magic, Lord Tirek proves himself to be EvilerThanThou and drains Discord's magic as well. Only when Twilight Sparkle frees him despite all the things he did does he really understand friendship, giving Twilight the final key to unlock the chest and the full, unmitigated power of ThePowerOfFriendship.]]** Queen Chrysalis, the BigBad of the second SeasonFinale, also has this problem. She's a sadistic, {{shapeshifting}}, [[HornyDevils succubus-like]] HiveQueen who stole Princess Cadance's identity to feed off the [[ThePowerOfLove love]] her husband to be had for her. In the end, she doesn't once think that this same power could be turned against her. To her, it was just food and she didn't truly understand its true power.** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1"]], during his BreakingSpeech to Discord, Tirek dismisses his brother's befriending ponies so many years ago as a sign of a weak mind. More generally, he considers friendship just another form of imprisonment.** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2"]], Tirek cannot understand friendship, and is confused when Twilight demands Discord's release after he betrayed them. It is this mistake that leads to his defeat and re-imprisonment for eternity.** Starlight Glimmer, the villain from the season five premiere, has an interesting variation on this. It's not that she doesn't understand friendship at all, but she has a seeming inability to even ''consider'' any other idea of how friendship might work besides her own, which states that friendship is impossible if friends have different talents or different opinions, leading to her trying to make everypony "equal". When Twilight tries to explain that differences make friendships better, she dismisses it as "sentimental nonsense". This belief is the main reason why [[spoiler:Fluttershy's FakeDefector move works]], as she believed that the Mane Six's friendship would be easily broken due to their differences.** Queen Chrysalis suffers even worse from this in the season six finale. [[spoiler:Chrysalis believes that love is something that you ''take'', not ''give''. When Thorax gives it freely, he attains a pure and powerful form, and practically every other changeling goes along. Chrysalis still fights back, and she then rejects Starlight's offer of peace, even though she's lost everything.]]* In the Christian-based cartoon ''WesternAnimation/GodRocks'' a robot kept on trying to ruin the God Rocks concert to raise money for a good cause, and he didn't understand that even after he stole their instruments they still desired to play.* In one episode of the ''[[Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse Battletech]]'' animated series, Mechwarrior Ciro forces a jumpship captain at gunpoint to record a message to Adam Steiner, saying that he knows where Adam's missing-in-action brother is, in an effort to lure Adam into a trap. [[BigBad Nicolai Malthus]] asks why Adam would respond to such a message, and Ciro replies that Adam would do anything to help his brother. It's a reaction Malthus finds impossible to understand. This is fully understandable, however, in that Clan Mechwarriors don't ''have'' families, they have sibkin--other Clan Mechwarriors who were created by scientists and incubated in artificial wombs. Though the bond between sibkin is stronger than the average bond between two different members of the same clan, they still view one another as only allies at best, and frequently as rivals competing for status and a limited number of choice assignments. To earn their status as Mechwarriors, they have to begin by emerging victorious in duels--and the losers get crap assignments or even demoted to a lesser caste! While many of them would ''understand'' the idea of complete and blind loyalty to another, few of them would ''feel'' it; and Nicolai is not exactly the most well-adjusted Clanner to begin with.* Roger of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', due to his species practically being MadeOfEvil, is completely unfamiliar with the idea of feeling for anyone over himself. So much that actually feeling guilt over one of his acts was such a trauma to his state of mind, it created a split personality out of it just to cope. Hell, in one episode, when he tried to be nice for a change, it literally almost killed him.* Nightmare from ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' has this as his FatalFlaw. His defeats at Spider-Man's hands are always the result of his crippling inability to understand Spidey's motivations. Being the master of nightmares means nothing if you're unable or unwilling to properly understand how your opponent operates. ** In "Strange Days", Nightmare forces everyone on Earth to be trapped in a permanent dream facing their worst fears. In the end, Spider-Man is the last to be forced to face his deepest fear, by making him face disappointment from his Uncle Ben over his death. Instead, the dream-version of his uncle greets him with a smile. Spidey then talks back at the confused Nightmare, saying he lives with what happened everyday and instead of letting it get to him, he lets it encourage him to be Spider-Man everyday. This in turn is what starts Nightmare's plan to fall apart because it never occurred to him someone has the will to overcome or accept their fears.** In "Nightmare on Christmas", a twisted parody of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' and ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'', Nightmare tries to trick Spider-Man into giving up being a hero by showing him how people never appreciate his heroic acts and showing him a future where he could be as happy and as famous as Tony Stark, firmly believing the unappreciated Spidey would gladly hang up his mask. However, in that future, Spidey's absence allowed the Green Goblin to take over New York, causing Spider-Man to reject his offer, saying he became a hero to do the right thing, not for fame. And at the end of the episode, Nightmare remains baffled that Spider-Man would so freely pass up a chance for a new life. --->'''Nightmare:''' You could have had everything, yet you threw it away for nothing!* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': ** Psimon was under the impression that Miss Martian's [[spoiler: true form]] would cause the rest of the team to reject her, and cost her Superboy's hand.[[spoiler: Instead, the team [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments accepts her with open arms when she reveals her White Martian form. For bonus points, Superboy knew she was a White Martian even before they started dating.]]]]** Also happens to the Light in the same episode. [[spoiler:They never thought that Artemis, Miss Martian, and Superboy would ''willingly'' reveal their {{Dark Secret}}s to the rest of the team, and that the team would ''fully accept them.'' Because of this, the Light gets OutGambitted.]]* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', Nigel wakes up in a world where he's an adult and president and his teammates are all part of his cabinet. The Alternate Hoagie eventually realizes what's going on and agrees to send him home if he'll sign the bill that would destroy their world's Kids Next Door. Nigel refuses, even when threatened. Hoagie doesn't get why, since he'll never see the kids he's sacrificing again and it won't affect his world.* On ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'', [[BigBad the Night Master]] accurately assesses that the titular trio have a lot of undesirable, un-heroic qualities. However, he scoffs at the idea that they could rise above them and become better people. He also clearly wasn't expecting [[spoiler: Coop to accept Yin's apology and turn on him.]]* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries:'' ''Quite'' a few members of Aladdin's RoguesGallery suffer from this:** From the minute they first meet, Mozenrath is genuinely surprised that Aladdin would choose to help people for its own sake rather than for personal profit. [[SubvertedTrope He's smart enough to quickly learn from that encounter, and every attempt to manipulate Aladdin afterwards went much more smoothly]].** And then there's Mirage. She's firmly convinced that she can ruin Aladdin and Jasmine's relationship by transforming Jasmine into a hideous snake woman and then destroying the only antidote. Aladdin's response is to transform ''himself'' into a hideous snake man in order to be with Jasmine, which was the ''last'' thing Mirage ever expected.* Ragnar of ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' worshipped the Green Lantern of his planet. Believing himself to be worthy of a Green Lantern, he poisoned him and attempted to claim his ring. Instead, his sister, Queen Iolande, became the Green Lantern. His jealousy and feelings of betrayal lead him to become a Red Lantern. It never occurred to him that his murdering a Green Lantern and his desire to abuse the power of one were the very reasons he was rejected.* Two animated incarnations of Dr. Doom have this as their FatalFlaw. ** ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'': Lampshaded and subverted in "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesDoomsWordIsLaw Doom's Word Is Law]]". Doctor Doom at first believes that kidnapping Reed and Susan will make defeating them easier as he believes Ben and Johnny to be too stupid to stop him without their help and is baffled that they are able to power through his defenses through luck and with Bruiser's help. But then he reveals he had a failsafe for Bruiser pulling a HeelFaceTurn. --->'''Reed:''' Don't you understand, Victor? [Ben and Johnny] don't care how great your science is; they just care about rescuing us.\\'''Dr. Doom:''' What are you blathering on about?\\'''Susan:''' You'll never stop them, Doom, because you don't know ''how'' to fight them.** In the ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' episode "Planet Doom", Doom's plan was to go back in time and stop the Avengers from forming by preventing the events that made each of them heroes, firmly believing that they only became heroes due to whatever fateful event that gave them their powers. However, while he rules the BadFuture with an iron fist, it also gave rise to new heroes who formed a team right under his nose with Thor's help. In other words, his inability to understand the fundamentally innate good and heroism within people [[JustForPun doomed]] his plan to failure before it even began.** He further demonstrated this trope when he attempted to control Tony Stark and Bruce Banner by altering their backstories and preventing them from being superheroes, in addition to serving him with their scientific know how. However, their natural good natures resurfaced with a little outside assistance, proving deep down they were still heroes, something that completely blind-sided Doom (as well as ruined his plans).* Bill Cipher from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' didn't believe Mabel [[JerkassRealization would feel remorse after treating Dipper]] like crap throughout the episode, ''Sock Opera''. Which is probably why his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech towards her not only fails, but [[HeelRealization backfires spectacularly]].-->'''Bill Cipher:''' I mean, who would sacrifice everything they've worked for just for their dumb sibling?-->'''Mabel:''' ...''Dipper'' would.** [[spoiler:He's eventually done in by the classic 'can't comprehend a heroic sacrifice' mistake, when he's tricked into entering Stan's mind just before the others erase it with the memory gun. Bill spends quite a bit of time spluttering in confusion over Stan being willing to have his own mind erased, and then futility tries to offer Stan money and power even after Stan's made it clear that his only concern is protecting his family.]]* Plankton from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' often has trouble understanding basic concepts of goodness, such as having fun. In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater'', not only does he struggle to understand the concept of teamwork, he can't even ''pronounce'' it properly ("Te-am work? Tie-am? Time bomb... work?"). He also believes that [=SpongeBob=] helping him is really a front for a plot to steal the formula for himself, and is shocked to learn he really doesn't know it.* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', three criminals reveal their plan to use magic to dry up the Ganges River, allowing them to access treasures on the river bed. Jackie is appropriately horrified because millions of people would die of thirst without the river, but they don't understand why he would care. * ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'':** In "Maternal Instincts" Vlad confesses his love for Maddie as well as admitting he hates Jack for "stealing" her. He asks her to dump Jack and be with him. She naturally refuses and spends the rest of the series having a rather sour opinion of him. Despite wanting to be loved, Vlad doesn't understand how it works.** A case of Evil Forgetting How To Comprehend Good, in "The Ultimate Enemy". [[spoiler:Dark Danny mocks his younger self for wanting to prevent the deaths of his loved one, being an evil monster so long has rendered him unable to feel anything other than sadistic pleasure.]]* ''WesternAnimation/ArchiesWeirdMysteries'':** Mega-Mall of Horrors: Mr. Avericci preys on teenage greed, but his plan failed because he didn't expect Jughead's loyalty to the Chocklit Shoppe was too strong.** The Vampire Arc: Medlock fails to understand the concept of friendship when he betrays his most loyal servant, who ends up turning against him.** Little Chocklit Shoppe of Horrors: An example of Logic Cannot Comprehend Emotion. The Stanley 9000 doesn't understand why Pop values personal attention and people's safety over efficiency. This leads to its StartOfDarkness, causing it to believe that humans are inefficient and must be destroyed.* ''WesternAnimation/YogisGang'': After cheating Yogi out of his ark, Peter D. Cheater learns about the gang's treasure map and, believing it to be real, offers to trade the ark back to Yogi for the map. When Yogi tells Peter the map is fake, Peter assumes it's a trick to keep him away from the treasure and makes the trade anyway. [[InvokedTrope Yogi later states that people who cheat a lot end up expecting others to do the same]].* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'':** In the episode, "Mega Muriel the Magnificent", the Computer possesses Muriel's body and performs various dangerous stunts on live TV to show Courage and the world how brave he is compared to organics. When Courage repeatedly tries to stop him, the Computer is baffled by why Courage would constantly risk his life to stop him even though he is scared of everything. The Computer erroneously believes that courage means having no fear when in reality, courage is the ability to overcome one's fear.** In the episode, "Cabaret Courage", Courage and the family are forced to be the entertainment for a creature's Hollywood cabaret, who promises them great prizes if he likes their performances. Muriel and Eustace quickly succumb to their greed and are nearly digested by the creature's stomach acid. But when it's Courage's turn to perform, the creature is stunned when Courage rejects his prizes and demands his family back. He's even more stunned when Courage nearly risks his life to save Eustace and Muriel. The creature had been surrounded by greed and avarice for so long, he never thought he would encounter an individual who was driven by more than their selfish desires. Ultimately, it's when Courage saves the creature himself from having a heart attack does he finally realize there are people who care for others and not just themselves.* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' episode "The Devil to Pay", the heroes were conned by a demon named Dib Devlin into competing in [[DeadlyGame a game show with their souls on the line.]] Dib clearly had no faith in human nature, and set up the final round as a DeathTrap that could be escaped if one of them admitted to doing something bad. He was dead ''wrong'', as they ''all'' thought of something bad they had done and confessed to it. (Although it took Ray--the intended one--the longest to admit it, that he [[spoiler:had eaten a cookie that Slimer had gotten slime all over, but he eventually did, [[EvenEvilHasStandards grossing out even the demonic studio audience]].]])* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Jasper has this problem. She thinks of [[FusionDance fusion]] as strictly a combat maneuver meant to increase a gem's power, when the real way to get the best results is by treating it as the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personification]] of the component gems' relationship with each other, and harnessing ThePowerOfLove between them. She's also unable to realize that Lapis Lazuli would value protecting Steven, her only friend, over revenge against the Crystal Gems. Combine both, and you get the mistake that took her out of action for over a season. [[spoiler: She decided to strong-arm Lapis Lazuli into fusing with her, creating Malachite. Lapis agreed, but instead of going along with Jasper's plans, took control of the fusion and dragged them both down to the bottom of the ocean.]]** In the episode ''Earthlings'', when she's fighting [[spoiler: Steven and Amethyst's fusion, Smoky Quartz]], she still doesn't get that ThePowerOfFriendship is actually the reason she's getting her ass kicked, not the Crystal Gems having access to a special weapon that she doesn't. [[spoiler: Since she sees fusion as simply a weapon, she once more strong-arms the nearest free gem into one. In this case, the closest is a Corrupted Gem. [[ClippedWingAngel The fusion is nowhere near strong enough to face off with Smoky, the corrupted gem breaks and runs at the first chance it gets]], and it infects Jasper with TheCorruption. She then refuses Steven's genuine attempt to heal her, as she thought that it (and his mother Rose Quartz's reaching out to gems marginalized by Homeworld's FantasticCasteSystem) were attempts to manipulate gems into joining her army.]]* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': [[BigBad Emperor Zarkon]] believes that Black Lion will still obey him, [[spoiler: the previous Paladin]], because they value power, dismissing Shiro stating that it's about trust between it and its Paladin. Shiro is immediately proven right, [[spoiler: the Black Lion immediately severs its link with Zarkon, starting his VillainousBreakdown]].* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is MadeOfEvil, and has a dim understanding of the concept of "good" (about the closest he can get is "Free beef jerky for everyone"). He thought that sending Jack to the future would crush his spirit, but Jack ended up being a rallying point for the abused masses of Aku's reign. Additionally, other things that are lost on him are "respect" and "teamwork", as he has ChronicBackstabbingDisorder to the highest degree and has actually screwed himself over time and again because he cannot help but betray his allies in some form or another, even when he's trying really hard not to.* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'', [[spoiler: Lord Domintator doesn't understand why [[SavingTheVillain Wander saves her]] when her ship exploded.]][[/folder]]

* [[WebAnimation/TheAutisticWorldOfTheAutist Imaginee]] seems to have this problem, especially to the idea of friendship. Leon even states that the reason Imaginee hates anything good in the world is because he can't comprehend it.

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